VANCOUVER — A TransLink plan to tax every freight container that moves in and out of B.C. coastal ports is being aggressively fought by shippers and retailers.

TransLink — the provincial agency responsible for the Lower Mainland’s road infrastructure and transit system — is desperately looking for new revenue streams to make up for a funding shortfall. The agency needs the money primarily to fund a major public transit expansion, reports the Surrey Delta Leader.

While the container fee has yet to be determined, the paper reports that a $20 charge per standardized container is under consideration.

However, neither TransLink nor the province has the authority to collect the fee. Federal support would be required.

While a container tax is the idea floating around,
TransLink might attempt to collect the fee from
ports (and their trucker clients) in some other form.

With shrinking profit margins in a soft economy, shippers and some truckers afraid they won’t be able to recoup the costs want TransLink to scrap the plan.

TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast admits businesses "haven’t been especially warm to (the idea) " but ultimately it’s public opinion that will determine its fate.

Prendergast said that growing Pacific container freight impacts infrastructure, road maintenance and traffic congestion and those costs have to be addressed.

But he said the growing freight activity – projected to rise rapidly in the years ahead – generates costs along with benefits. Plus, he argues that truckers and shippers benefit from better public transit because it results in less congested roadways.

B.C. Trucking Association President Paul Landry told the paper he’s concerned that TransLink continues to disproportionately fund public transit at the expense of road users.

TransLink is also considering other sources of revenue including an annual vehicle levy and higher fuel and property taxes.