SkyTrain Chaos: High Costs, Delays, and $173 Threats

 🚆 SkyTrain Chaos: High Costs, Delays, and $173 Threats

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

TransLink wants you to know they're doing track work — which really means: expect delays.
But here’s the part they don’t say out loud:

➡️ Your 90-minute ticket expires — while you’re stuck on their delayed system.
➡️ You risk getting hit with a $173 fine if your transfer runs out.
➡️ And meanwhile, the trains are PACKED with people, especially international students who often don’t pay — or use each other's cards — and face no consequences.

It’s beyond unfair.

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💸 Who Pays? People Like Me.

I pay $13 round trip just to commute from Vancouver to South Surrey.
For what?

• 🚆 Delays
• 🚷 Overcrowding
• 👮 Threats from transit cops
• 😡 No extensions for transfer time

Even when it’s TransLink’s fault the train is late, they still threaten riders with fines.

And those $173 fare infraction posters are everywhere — like we’re criminals for not being rich enough to own a car.

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🧑‍🎓 And Who Doesn’t Pay?

I see it every day: huge groups of new international students getting on without tapping in.
Some share one Compass Card.
Some just ignore the system entirely.
And when inspectors come on board? They vanish like smoke — because enforcement is selective.

And don’t get me wrong — this isn't about blaming international students.
It’s about a system that turns a blind eye for some, and drops the hammer on others.
If you're poor, elderly, or struggling to get by, you’re the target.
If you don’t speak the language or know how to play the system, you’re invisible.

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💼 TransLink Executives Are Doing Just Fine

While we stress about a $173 fine, TransLink’s CEO, Kevin Quinn, makes over $448,000 a year.
Other executives bring in hundreds of thousands more.
They never ride during rush hour.
They don’t see the chaos or the fear.
They just approve more fare hikes and pretend this is a “world-class transit system.”

But the reality?

🚆 This isn’t transit — it’s extortion.

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⚠️ It’s Not Just Inconvenient — It’s Oppressive

• There’s no grace period when delays push your ride over 90 minutes.
• There’s no discount if you’re low-income and not on disability.
• There’s no accountability for unfair policing or enforcement.
• And there's no compassion — just punishment.

All while billions are being spent to expand the system to UBC — so the developers can gentrify Kitsilano and push even more people out of the city.

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🔥 We Need to Push Back

Here’s what we need:

1. Automatic transfer time extensions during delays.
2. Fare cap systems — no one should pay more than a set amount per day.
3. Real accountability for fare inspections and enforcement.
4. Equity programs for low-income riders — even if they don’t have “official” disability paperwork.

Because right now, TransLink is failing the people it was meant to serve.

I ride this system, I have no choice. I see what’s happening. And I’m telling you: it’s not sustainable, it’s not fair, and it’s not humane.

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✊ Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
 | @zipolita
#TransitJustice #SkyTrainTruth #SomethingHASToChange

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The Silent Crisis on Vancouver Transit

 🚨 I See Dead People: The Silent Crisis on Vancouver Transit

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

“I see dead people.”
That line from The Sixth Sense was supposed to be fiction. But for me, it’s real life — riding the bus in Metro Vancouver.

I’ve seen people overdosing at bus stops. I’ve called the number they tell us to — 87-77-77 — so many times that they get annoyed. They ask endless questions, while the person on the ground might already be brain-dead.

I’ve called 911, too. But often I’m on a moving bus, only seeing it for a minute, if that. And by the time I’m trying to explain where it was, we’re long gone.

Drivers don’t stop.
Other riders don’t look.
Cars drive past like it’s normal.

It’s not normal.

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🛑 The System is Designed to Look Away

I learned recently that because drivers were attacked during COVID, the union made a rule: they aren’t allowed to intervene anymore.

That’s understandable for their safety — but what about ours? What about the people dying right outside the doors?
There are no crisis teams on transit. No one trained in overdose response. No one to help unless you call — and even then, it’s a bureaucratic mess.

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💸 If You're Poor and Not Sick Enough, You're on Your Own

I don’t qualify for the $50/year disability transit pass — because apparently I’m not disabled enough.
So I pay full fare: $13 round trip, often just to survive.
I sit next to seniors who can barely stand.
I pass tent cities where people are being evicted.
I hear about UBC expansions and new SkyTrain lines while existing routes fall apart.

They’re expanding the SkyTrain to UBC — and in the process, pushing out the soul of Kitsilano, too. Gentrification disguised as "progress."

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🏙️ TransLink Is Killing Vancouver

No one wants to say it, so I will:

TransLink is killing Vancouver.
Killing community.
Killing compassion.
Killing the idea that public transit should serve the public — all the public — not just tourists, students, or real estate developers.

Every delay.
Every fare hike.
Every overdose we walk past.
It all adds up.

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🤲 What Can I Do?

That’s the question I keep asking.
What can one person do when they see so much and no one seems to care?

I can’t save every person I see on the ground.
I can’t force drivers to stop.
I can’t give money I don’t have or build a shelter overnight.

But I can write.
I can witness.
I can refuse to stay silent.

So I’m saying this now:

If you’ve seen it too — the death, the delays, the despair — you are not alone.

We need a system built on humanity, not just efficiency.
We need housing before trains.
We need crisis teams before turnstiles.
We need transit justice — now.

—
✊ Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
zipolita.com | @zipolita
#TransitJustice #TransLinkTruth #SomethingHASToChange

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The Human Cost of Transit Fares and Enforcement

 The Human Cost of Transit Fares and Enforcement

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current state of public transit in Metro Vancouver, particularly the high cost of fares, punitive fines, and the increased enforcement measures targeting vulnerable populations.

What happened on the bus today was deeply disturbing. Four transit police officers boarded the bus at one stop and began checking everyone's passes. I’ve experienced similar situations in Mexico, where it’s normal for police to board long-distance buses and ask for passports. I was prepared for that there because I understood the context and purpose. But in Canada, this level of enforcement feels alarming and out of place.

I spoke with a young student who shared her own struggles. She’s been here only two years, working toward an Associate of Arts degree at a college near Metrotown. She told me about the enforcement that has been happening for the last six months, about the steep fines, and how difficult it is to afford the $200 monthly transit pass from Surrey to Vancouver. She’s just one example of so many who are being impacted by these policies.

Public transit was never meant to be a tool of punishment—it was designed to connect communities, provide opportunities, and ensure accessibility for all. Yet today, it has become a source of stress and danger for low-income individuals, students, and vulnerable groups.

Imagine the consequences: women and other vulnerable individuals being forced into unsafe situations because they cannot afford to get to work or school. Imagine someone you care about—a daughter, a brother, a mother—unable to pay a fine or afford transit. This is not a hypothetical scenario; it is the daily reality for many people.

Meanwhile, we see massive construction projects and "big plans" for transit expansion, but little thought seems to be given to the human cost. Public transit should be funded by those who can afford it—through higher taxes on billionaires and corporations that benefit from the infrastructure—rather than placing the burden on those already struggling.

History has shown us the consequences of ignoring vulnerable populations. The recent installation of cell phone services along the Highway of Tears is a tragic acknowledgment of the dangers faced by those without access to safe transportation. We cannot allow our urban transit system to create similar risks for people who simply can’t afford to pay.

I urge you to reconsider the current fare structure and enforcement policies. Consider eliminating fares altogether and funding transit through equitable taxation. Transit should be a public good that serves everyone, not a system that penalizes poverty.

The inventors and visionaries behind Expo 86 never imagined a transit system that would punish impoverished people. They envisioned a future of connectivity, opportunity, and progress. It’s time to live up to that vision.

Sincerely,

Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita