Opinion: BC government needs to create a Ministry of Transit

Opinion: BC government needs to create a Ministry of Public Transit

SkyTrain Canada Line (Eric Buermeyer/Shutterstock)

Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Denis Agar (executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders and a former TransLink planner), Cindy Elliott (councillor with the City of Powell River), Lee Haber (director of strategy and partnerships for Mountain Valley Express and an urban and transportation planner), Dylan Kruger (councillor with the City of Delta), and Zac de Vries (councillor with the District of Saanich).

On August 15, 2024, the Government of British Columbia announced that the cost of building the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain had swelled to $6 billion, an increase of 50% from an already high cost.

To keen observers, this news performed the feat of being both shocking and unsurprising at the same time: shocking in the sense that an elevated line should not cost almost triple what the 50% underground Canada Line cost to build, and unsurprising in the sense that this was just the latest piece of evidence of a province failing to adequately manage and build public transit infrastructure.

None of this is to say that we as a province are spending too much on public transit or that the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension is not a worthy endeavour.

In fact, we would like to argue the opposite: public transit expansion is so badly needed across BC that we must find a way to build efficiently and make the best use of these limited funds.

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We must also remind ourselves that we haven’t completely lost the ability to build well and efficiently in this province.

After the atmospheric river in late 2021 destroyed several highway and railway sections, these were rebuilt and once again operational in record time. For example, after several bridges of the Coquihalla Highway were destroyed or heavily damaged, it reopened to commercial vehicle traffic only 35 days later.

Some political partisans might blame the current provincial government for the delay and cost overruns associated with these public transit projects, but the success with road rebuilding after the 2021 floods demonstrates that we can still do great things if we are truly focused and determined. Therein lies the problem afflicting public transit in this province: it has always been treated as subordinate to roads.

Bringing new focus to public transit

Currently, public transit operates under the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) with its management split between the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit.

Jurisdictional boundaries between the ministers are unclear, leading to inaction. For decades, MoTI’s approach has focused on billion-dollar highway widening projects, with the occasional public transit project delivered on the side. This approach is what has led us to the transportation gridlock and overcrowding we see today.

We need a bold vision to give this province the transportation network it deserves. We need a Ministry of Transit.

Such a division made to provide additional focus to an issue is not unprecedented in BC. In 2017, BC established a Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions separate from the Ministry of Health to ” build a seamless, coordinated network of mental health and addictions services that works for everyone in BC, as well as lead the response to the toxic drug crisis.”

We need a separate ministry that can establish a comprehensive and seamless public transit network across this province, recognize and prioritize our public transit agencies, and address accessibility, safety, overcrowding, and affordability for people across the province.

Construction progress on the platform level of SkyTrain Arbutus Station on the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension. (Government of BC)

This dedicated Ministry of Transit would end one-off, disconnected projects that are too expensive and arrive too late. Organizational structure sets the tone and provides the foundation that either empowers or hinders management. Giving public transit its own ministry will make it clear that our province cares about it and is serious about running it well.

The response to the 2021 floods showed that we can be great at building roads. Now, it’s time for BC to be great at building and operating public transit.

Creating a world-class provincial transit network

Having additional focus with a Ministry of Transit is helpful, but where should this focus be directed?

Many of the public transit problems we currently face stem from a lack of in-house expertise when it comes to planning and building public transit. This is the primary driver behind the exponential cost increase we’ve seen in public transit projects across North America, including the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain.

The Transit Costs Project, a research body at New York University, has conducted extensive research that shows that most of the premiums paid in North America compared to similar projects in Europe (typically two to five times more expensive) are due not to higher material and labour costs but poor planning, procurement, and project management practices.

Though we have agencies meant to handle some aspects of the process (such as Infrastructure BC for procurement), they lack the public transit-specific expertise to ensure we are building things the right way, paying a reasonable figure for what we do build, and not seeing our funds eroded through change orders. We need to build a lot, and we need to become great at building.

The BC Ministry of Transit, therefore, should establish a public transit procurement and planning division that directly employs experts from the province and around the world to plan and procure large public transit projects.

Next, this new ministry should create a framework for how public transit should be funded, governed, and operated across the province. From Castlegar to Chilliwack to Kelowna, public transit systems are dealing with more demand than ever and sometimes overcrowding.

BC Transit sometimes denies communities the right to expand public transit, even when they have matching funds in hand.

A new Ministry of Transit will empower communities with new funding formulas and governance structures. Regions will have an opportunity to spin off their own public transit agencies if they decide the pros outweigh the cons.

By creating a governance framework that integrates local voices with professional expertise, we can ensure that public transit expansion is not only efficient but also equitable, meeting the diverse needs of all British Columbians in every corner of the province.

It should also include how local and intercity systems should be integrated when it comes to routes and payment systems so that riders can travel across the province seamlessly.

skytrain south granville station construction

Construction progress on the entrance into SkyTrain South Granville Station on the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension. (Government of BC)

Lastly, a pathway for unsolicited proposals (similar to what exists in Alberta) should be established to consider private sector and First Nations public transit projects. Such structures in other jurisdictions have led to the construction of the REM light metro system in Montreal and the Brightline private passenger railway in Florida.

With expertise in-house and a provincial public transit framework established, the Ministry of Transit should advance something that has never existed in our province: a vision for province-wide public transit service so that anyone, regardless of income or ability, can affordably and safely travel across BC.

There is a strong case for regional rail service on the South Coast and on Vancouver Island. A reliable bus service linking 80% of BC’s population could be established in a matter of months with a surprisingly small subsidy. BC Ferries should fall under the Ministry of Transit so that bus and ferry schedules are seamlessly coordinated. High-speed rail to Seattle and Portland would take longer to build but has serious support in the US and would benefit BC economically.

Creating a world-class provincial public transit network is not only an economic and environmental imperative but also a safety imperative. We know how a lack of rural public transit has and continues to endanger the lives of Indigenous women on the Highway of Tears. The service on that highway still doesn’t meet the need — the bus only runs twice a week.

We also see how countries like Norway that invest in public transit have half the number of road deaths as Canada. No wonder even small Norwegian Arctic villages, 1900 km from the capital, have bus connections three times a day.

British Columbians deserve a world-class public transit network that reaches virtually every community. It would create jobs, boost the economy, reduce pollution, decongest trade corridors, allow for more housing, and, most crucially, make BC a more affordable place to live. It should be fast, frequent, reliable, seamless, and easy to use. Building it will take time, but it will be a worthy endeavour. It will make our province greener, safer, fairer, and more prosperous.

If our elected leaders are serious about making this future BC a reality, this election is the perfect time to take the first step and establish a Ministry of Transit.

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