Metro Vancouver mayors warn housing at risk without expanded transit

The annual Union of BC Municipalities convention is on, and on Tuesday, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation had some thoughts to share about transit and housing in Metro Vancouver.

One leader in attendance, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, says that action needs to be implemented sooner rather than later.

“Time is running out. We’re asking the federal and provincial governments to commit to funding their share of the Access for Everyone plan, starting in 2024.”

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Access for Everyone says, “Affordable transit and expanding to more parts of the region helps people lower their monthly transportation budgets and opens up options for living in more affordable communities.”

One of the reasons that Metro Vancouver mayors are pushing for expanded transit is surging ridership.

Metro Vancouver mayors suggest committing funding to Access for Everyone will “enhance access to new affordable housing developments throughout the region and better serve existing communities where transit ridership is already overcrowded.”

The plan would double bus service over the next 10 years, build nine new Bus Rapid Transit lines, and increase funding for active transportation infrastructure “by a factor of 10.”

Data from TransLink shows that overcrowding is “rapidly worsening.”

“By 2025, almost four in ten rush hour bus trips will be severely overcrowded, leaving tens of thousands of commuters every day watching full buses pass them,” the Mayors’ Council said in a statement.

“Transit ridership in Surrey and Langley is at 120 percent of pre-COVID levels with some routes in these fast-growing communities seeing ridership more than double over the past four years.”

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West also weighed in.

“As mayors, we are concerned that any delays in expanding transit service will make it very difficult for city councils and builders to expand housing in our communities as quickly as is needed. The window for the provincial and federal government to take action is getting very small.”

Meanwhile, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said the mayors’ collective needs help from senior levels of government, including provincial and federal partners.

“Delivering new transit service next year is our shared priority as mayors, and we need our senior government partners at the table to make it happen.”