New advocacy campaign seeks government funding for TransLink expansion | Daily Hive

Artistic rendering of the SFU Burnaby gondola lower terminal building next to SkyTrain Production Way-University Station. (TransLink)

Another public advocacy campaign is being launched by TransLink’s Mayors’ Council to build public support to call on the federal and provincial governments to fund public transit expansion projects in Metro Vancouver.

A messaging blitz is about to begin on physical advertising spaces at SkyTrain stations and bus stops, in addition to online campaigning.

TransLink and the Mayors’ Council have $21 billion worth of projects under their 10-year priorities in the “Access For Everyone” plan, but there is an immense funding shortfall for these projects.

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This includes the doubling of bus services across the region, including the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes, as well as SkyTrain’s Millennium Line extension reaching the University of British Columbia, and the gondola line reaching Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain campus. There are also other major investments in improving existing infrastructure and the transition towards battery-electric buses.

Although TransLink is experiencing the strongest post-pandemic ridership recovery amongst major public transit systems in Canada and the United States, with over 90% in recovered ridership as of late 2023, its fare revenues are still down as riders are now taking trips less frequently, and buying cheaper fare products, such as single-trip fares instead of monthly passes.

Its substantial gas tax revenues are also expected to fall from the accelerating adoption of battery-electric vehicles.

TransLink is forecasting a cumulative funding gap of over $4.7 billion between 2026 and 2033, which would necessitate substantial progressively growing annual revenues — starting with about $600 million in 2026. This funding shortfall does not account for any of the investments in the Access For Everyone expansion plan.

Moreover, due to the current funding constraints, public transit services in Metro Vancouver are frozen at 2019 levels.

If sufficient funding is secured from the provincial and federal governments by April, TransLink believes it can kick off the $2 billion first phase of projects under the Access For Everyone plan by the middle of 2024. The first new bus services would be rolled out by September 2024.

“The Mayors’ Council has appreciated its strong partnership with the Government of BC to help TransLink recover from the pandemic but it is up to all three levels of government to finalize a funding strategy for future transit expansion, and we must do so now,” said Brad West, the chair of the Mayors’ Council and the mayor of Port Coquitlam, in a statement.

Last year, the Mayors’ Council also requested the federal government to expedite the start date of its annual permanent transit fund.

The funding request also comes at a time when the federal government is expected to tighten its belt to reduce inflationary pressures and meet its timeline of balancing the federal budget.

Map of three new rapid transit corridors using buses. (TransLink)

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