Year-at-a-Glance Highlights

Transportation Investment Plan

In 2003/04 the ministry launched a three-year transportation investment plan for British Columbia's transportation system, intended to improve safety, increase economic activity and enhance the movement of people and goods throughout the province and across international borders.

The plan will be funded through federal cost-sharing programs, third party contributions, public-private partnerships and revenue from the 3.5 cents per litre motor fuel tax increase that came into effect on March 1, 2003. The fuel taxes are dedicated through legislation to the BC Transportation Financing Authority. The plan is set out in detail in "Opening up BC: A transportation plan for British Columbia," available online at: www.gov.bc.ca/bcgov/content/images/transportation_plan_web.pdf.

The three-year plan is only the beginning. Within four fiscal years, the provincial government's direct investments will have made possible a total investment of $6.5 billion in British Columbia transportation projects through its partners in federal, regional and municipal governments and the private sector.

Highlights of the plan include:

• Highway Rehabilitation: Resurfacing and safety improvements such as seismic retrofitting and roadside guardrail installation to keep the highway network safe and reliable, and protect the public's investment in transportation assets.
• Heartlands Roads: Significant improvements to Heartlands roads in the northern and interior part of B.C. that provide access to communities, resources and industries. As part of the province's 2003/04 Heartlands Economic Strategy, the ministry invested $73 million on rehabilitation and improvements to highways, rural side roads, and oil and gas roads in the Heartlands. The ministry treated 894 kilometres for improvements, increasing the percentage of Heartlands roads in good condition from 34 per cent to 39 per cent.
• Transportation Partnerships (Airports and Ports): Investments in public airports and seaports that will result in significant, long-term economic benefits and expand B.C.'s role as Canada's trade gateway to the world. The ministry has expressed support for the development of a container handling facility at the Port of Prince Rupert, and has offered to fund projects that will expand airports at Cranbrook and Prince George. The Comox airport will see significant improvements from the province's $2 million investment. As well, an investment of $167,000 will support an expansion of the Kamloops airport, and an investment of $130,000 will support an expansion of the Pitt Meadows airport. These improvements will create new jobs, tourism growth and new economic opportunities.
• Border Crossings: Infrastructure improvements and investments in transportation technology to enhance the free flow of goods through B.C.'s busiest border crossings, keeping international trade moving and B.C's economy strong. These multi-year projects totalling $242 million will be cost-shared with the federal government and are part of an integrated network of road upgrades intended to eliminate bottlenecks at borders and improve safety for all road users.
• Highway Corridors: Local improvements to major highways throughout the province to improve safety and efficiency. Projects include the addition of passing lanes, realignments and other safety features.

The provincial government has offered to contribute funding through the BC Transportation Financing Authority to the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) Rapid Transit Project. This project would be led by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink). The cost would be shared with the federal government, the Vancouver International Airport Authority, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, and a private builder/operator.

Transportation Investments and Public Private Partnerships

The provincial government has stated its intention to modernize government and to find more efficient and effective approaches for delivering transportation services. Public Private Partnerships (P3s) involve combining the strengths of the private and public sectors to best meet the particular challenges posed by projects. Such partnerships are one of the new delivery tools the government will be using. This approach will be used with those public projects where it clearly provides advantages in terms of the best value for money for taxpayers, and will:

• refocus the investment decision from an asset to a service allowing the private sector to determine the mix of capital and operating units required to produce the desired service;
• encourage innovative solutions to meet schedule and performance requirements;
• focus all stakeholders' attention on "value for money";
• allow for the accelerated development of needed provincial transportation services;
• result in the management of risk in a transparent manner; and
• reward performance consistent with the objectives of the project.

The ministry is undertaking improvements to the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler to improve its safety and reliability. By 2009, extensive highway improvements will make travel along the corridor safer for residents, commuters and tourists. Over the longer term, highway improvements will accommodate population growth, economic development in corridor communities and increasing demand for resident travel, visitor travel and goods movement. The ministry is using a package of different procurement approaches to deliver the improvements. These include:

• alliance contracts (involving sharing of risks by the province and contractor);
• design-build contracts (which shift more risk to the contractor); and
• design-build and operate contracts (which shift the most risk to the contractor).

This approach is designed to provide the best overall result in terms of the project's key objectives, schedule (completion by the 2010 Olympics), traffic flow during construction, budgets, and performance of the highway during construction. The process of selecting contractors is underway and will be completed by the end of 2004.

The Okanagan Lake Bridge on Highway 97 is B.C.'s most congested section of highway outside of the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island. After 45 years of use, Kelowna has outgrown the three-lane bridge. The province is seeking a partner to design, build, finance and operate a new five-lane bridge. The new bridge will help relieve congestion, improve safety and support economic development in the Okanagan. A request for proposals was issued in May 2004; construction is expected to start late in summer 2004; and the new bridge is expected to be open by spring 2008.

The province listened to the public and did not proceed with the proposal to lease the Coquihalla Highway to a private partner.

Alternative Service Delivery

Significant progress has been made in preparing some ministry operations to be delivered more efficiently and effectively through the expertise, talent and innovation of the private sector. The ministry has been successful in shifting its focus from doing all the operational work itself to being a knowledgeable owner that involves the private sector in the management and delivery of the transportation system. The availability of alternative funding approaches has provided the opportunity to meet growing demands at a lower cost to the taxpayer. Operations now administered by the private sector include sign production, geotechnical drilling, and the majority of inland ferry routes. The remaining inland ferry routes and pavement marking operations will be administered by the private sector by June 2004. The electrical operations and radio communications initiatives are in the competitive tender process.

Infrastructure Management

The ministry initiated discussions between maintenance contractors and the unions representing their workers, which led to a cooperative approach and ultimately the endorsement of new collective labour agreements. These agreements will reduce labour costs and increase cost savings for the province. Current maintenance contracts that were originally established for a five year period were extended a further three years, which also resulted in savings to the ministry during the extension period. New contracts tendered in 2004 will be for a 10-year contract term, which will allow maintenance contractors to plan more effectively over the longer term and provide a more favourable time-frame for amortizing the large capital costs associated with acquiring equipment and facilities. Approximately $5 million was saved in fiscal 2003/04 by the new contracts and resulting bid prices. It is anticipated that further bid price savings will be realized in 2004/05.

Streamlined Business Processes

The Business Process Re-engineering Project reduces red tape for both customers and ministry employees, and streamlines processes to make them more efficient. The ministry has improved service delivery and productivity by simplifying or eliminating business processes, and by using information technology (IT) effectively. One example of effective IT use is the availability of online bidding for road and bridge construction opportunities. Contractors may submit bids electronically, which streamlines the bidding process, while saving the contractors' time and money on printing, mailing and courier fees. Business areas throughout the ministry are undertaking major streamlining initiatives. Changes include the restructuring of field crews, the centralization of major works contracts, and the revision of the properties standards and procedures manual.

Adopt-a-Highway Program

The ministry launched the Adopt-a-Highway program to enhance the cleanliness of highways by creating new opportunities for community groups and businesses to assist in litter removal and roadside beautification. The program encourages local stewardship of public highway rights-of-way. The program offers non-profit and for-profit organizations the chance to make aesthetic improvements to the medians, boulevards, interchanges and general right-of-way areas along highways in their communities. To date the program has successfully filled 53 adoptions.

New Information Measures for Motorists

The ministry and its road and bridge maintenance contractors have put in place new measures to control traffic and better inform motorists about unplanned closures of the Malahat and Goldstream Park portions of the Trans-Canada Highway. The new measures include placing portable changeable message signs and flaggers at both ends of the closure to inform motorists of the anticipated wait time, so that they can make informed travel decisions. The ministry also began the development of Drive BC!, a map-based website with information for the travelling public. The new application will display road and weather conditions and highway incidents in a timely manner over the Internet and will greatly improve the quality and timeliness of road condition information.

Weigh Scales Upgrade Program

Many weigh scales experience congestion, delays and safety-related problems. The ministry is developing a weigh scales upgrade program to reduce waiting times and improve accessibility and safety. These changes will reduce trucking industry costs and allow the faster transportation of goods. The ministry will also save money by partnering with neighboring jurisdictions at joint use facilities. For example, B.C. entered into a partnership with Alberta to build a joint use commercial vehicle inspection facility near the B.C.-Alberta border at Golden. The facility will save B.C. and Alberta taxpayers an estimated total of $2 million in capital costs and $300,000 in annual operating costs.

Deregulation

The provincial government, in its New Era document, committed to cut red tape and reduce regulatory burden by one-third by June 2004. These reductions are intended to eliminate obsolete and redundant regulatory requirements that waste the taxpayers' time and money. The ministry eliminated 19 per cent of its regulatory requirements by March 31, 2004 and is on track to meet the 33 per cent reduction target by June 2004. The Transportation Statutes Amendment Act passed in 2003 eliminated 228 obsolete regulations, facilitates planning for a variety of transportation improvements, and encourages economic development in the tourism and commercial transport sectors.

The Highway Act, Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act, Build BC Act and Highway Scenic Improvement Act are all being repealed and replaced by a new Transportation Act. The new act will consolidate core highway legislation into one organized plain-language document, make ministry business more efficient, improve relationships with local governments and enhance public service.

The outdated Motor Carrier Act passed in 1939 was repealed and the Passenger Transportation Act was brought into force in June 2004. While economic regulation will remain in place for taxis, limousines and inter-city buses, all other forms of road-based passenger transportation will be able to obtain a licence if safety and insurance requirements are met. Under the new legislation, the Motor Carrier Commission has been replaced by the Passenger Transportation Board. The new board will focus on ensuring services are available to the public and providing faster response times for industry.