TransLink CEO emphasizes 'certainty and delivery' in Bus Rapid Transit approach | Daily Hive

January 2026 revised design of BRT bus stops with centre bus-only lanes. (TransLink)

The head of Metro Vancouver’s public transit authority used a Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade event last week to lay out what he called a “certainty and delivery” approach to public transit expansion in the South of the Fraser, highlighting major bus network improvements, including the future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along King George Boulevard.

Speaking to business leaders, TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn reaffirmed TransLink’s plans to implement 40 new and improved bus routes serving areas that lack frequent public transit service. He pointed to growing residential neighbourhoods such as South Newton and major industrial and employment hubs, including Campbell Heights in Surrey, Gloucester and Langley, and Tilbury in Delta.

One of the most anticipated additions, Quinn said, is a new Campbell Heights bus route that would connect White Rock Centre to Willowbrook via 192 Street, significantly improving access to one of the region’s fastest-growing employment areas. This bus route is targeted for launch in 2027.

“With hundreds of thousands of people commuting to industrial areas every day, these new routes connect the folks who build, ship and stock everything that keeps our daily life buzzing,” Quinn said.

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A central focus of his remarks and discussion was the proposed King George Boulevard BRT, a 19-km-long express bus route with 12 stops linking SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station, Newton bus exchange, and Semiahmoo Town Centre in South Surrey, which also effectively provides a rapid transit connection to White Rock Town Centre immediately to the south of the mall.

Quinn described BRT as a rail-like service on rubber tires: running mostly in dedicated bus lanes, stopping at weather-protected stations, offering real-time information on digital displays, traffic-signal priority at intersections, all-door boarding, and high-capacity buses. Trips on the corridor are expected to be up to 30 per cent faster than current local buses, with travel from Newton to Surrey Central taking under 15 minutes during rush hour. During peak periods, buses on this particular BRT line would arrive every five minutes.

“We don’t have to buy rail cars. We don’t have to buy land for a new maintenance facility for vehicles that we don’t maintain today,” he said.

translink bus rapid transit brt curbside bus lanes

January 2026 revised design of BRT bus stops with curbside bus-only lanes. (TransLink)

king george boulevard brt langley haney place brt

January 2026 revised bus stop and route map for King George Boulevard BRT and Langley-Haney Place BRT. (TransLink)

The King George Boulevard corridor already sees more than 25,000 public transit trips each weekday, and TransLink projects it will become the busiest bus route in Surrey — and one of the busiest in Metro Vancouver — by 2035.

Quinn asserts BRT offers a realistic path forward. “My focus right now is on certainty and on delivery,” he said, asserting that BRT “delivers many of the same benefits that people expect from rail, but it can be done much sooner and at a much lower cost.”

According to TransLink, BRT projects can be delivered in about three years once construction funding is secured, because they rely on existing streets rather than tracks or guideways.

TransLink first began planning for BRT early this decade as part of an overall BRT strategy, and is now aiming to complete the detailed design of both the King George Boulevard BRT and the Langley–Haney Place BRT by 2027. Based on this timeline, the entire process — from the start of preliminary planning through construction and opening — would span roughly a decade under the best-case scenario, with the assumption that there would be no lengthy delays with securing the necessary funding once detailed design is complete next year.

This month, TransLink indicated each kilometre of its BRT mode standard will cost about $20 million to build. With a combined total of 41 km of BRT routes across both lines, this pegs the potential total cost of the projects at roughly $800 million. Currently, this is not funded.

Addressing concerns that BRT could delay eventual rail investment, Quinn said TransLink is designing the system so it does not preclude a future upgrade to light rail transit (LRT) or SkyTrain if demand warrants it. Street-level LRT — the Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT project — was previously rejected and cancelled in late 2018 following overwhelming public opposition and a change of political leadership after that year’s civic election, with TransLink subsequently pivoting to advancing the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project.

“Once King George BRT goes in, it will be one of the top routes in all of Metro Vancouver. Our attention will quickly go to what else might be needed for that corridor,” he said.

“I think for our part, we don’t see it as permanent. There’s lots of parts of this region that have started as buses or a RapidBus type of service that has become a SkyTrain or could become a light rail system or a SkyTrain system. So I don’t sit here today with any notions that, once that goes in, it’s here until the end of time.”

In a statement earlier this month, Darryl Dela Cruz, the founder of advocacy group SkyTrain For Surrey, which was fervently opposed to the previous LRT project, said, “This BRT project creates a rare opportunity to lay the groundwork now and dramatically reduce the future cost of extending SkyTrain along King George Boulevard.”

“This is possible because constructing BRT requires reconfiguring the roadway to create dedicated bus lanes, and that same work could be used to profile the corridor, locate underground utilities, and secure the right-of-way that future SkyTrain will need,” continued Dela Cruz.

A comparison of the capable speed and capacity of SkyTrain, light rail transit, streetcar, and buses. (City of Vancouver)

TransLink’s public consultation on the bus lane configurations of both BRT lines is currently underway, with an online survey open through Feb. 8, 2026.

For King George Boulevard BRT, 90 per cent of the route outside of the Serpentine River’s agricultural zone — between Highway 10/56 Avenue and the south side of King George Boulevard’s recently-built Nicomekl River bridge — will have bus-only lanes. As for Langley-Haney Place BRT, 85 per cent of the route outside of the Golden Ears Bridge will have bus-only lanes. There will be a combination of bus-only lanes using curbside lanes or centre lanes, depending on the specific segment of the route, with the proposed designs generally retaining two general vehicle traffic lanes in each direction.

Input from residents, businesses and stakeholders will help shape the final BRT corridor designs.

Quinn framed the expansion plans as part of a broader economic strategy, noting that Metro Vancouver now has the second-highest public transit ridership per capita in Canada, ahead of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“People are choosing transit not because they have to, but because it’s reliable, convenient, and affordable for them,” he said, adding that sustained investment has turned public transit into “central economic infrastructure.”

Example of BRT bus stops with curbside bus-only lanes. (TransLink)

translink bus rapid transit brt centre bus lanes

Example of BRT bus stops with centre bus-only lanes. (TransLink)

He also highlighted the scale of work underway for SkyTrain, including the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension and Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension, which together represent nearly a 30 per cent expansion of the SkyTrain network — 22 km of extensions that will bring the network size to over 100 km. Supporting that network growth will require major system upgrades and the hiring of 400 to 500 additional SkyTrain staff over the coming years, with the Broadway extension opening in Fall 2027 and the Surrey-Langley extension by late 2029.

Funding remains a key challenge, emphasized Quinn. TransLink’s current investment plan is fully funded through the end of 2027, with discussions underway with the provincial government on introducing legislation to provide the public transit authority with a new revenue source beyond that point.

“Investing in transit isn’t just good for riders,” Quinn told the audience. “It’s good for business, it expands your talent pool, and every trip adds up to a stronger local economy.”

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