Metro Vancouver mayors are calling on the federal and provincial governments to commit to new funding for public transit as housing targets are expected to make ridership surge.
TransLink鈥檚 Mayors鈥� Council on Regional Transportation warned the governments that the system鈥檚 overcrowding is 鈥渞apidly worsening鈥� and without new funding for public transit expansions, it will make it difficult for local governments to expand housing in communities as quickly as needed.
By 2025, data from TransLink shows that almost four-in-10 rush-hour bus trips 鈥渨ill be severely overcrowded, leaving tens of thousands of commuters every day watching full buses pass them.鈥�
The warning came Tuesday (Sept. 19) during the Union of BC Municipalities annual convention in Vancouver.
Mayors鈥� council chair Brad West said the region鈥檚 population is growing at a record pace while the housing affordability crisis deepens.
鈥淎s 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,鈥� said West, who is also the mayor of Port Coquitlam.
TransLink says transit service was frozen at 2019 levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the region鈥檚 population has grown by more than 200,000 people since then. An additional 50,000 people are expected to move to the region every year.
According to the authority, the summer of 2023 saw 14 million more boardings than the previous summer 鈥� a 16-per-cent increase.
The mayor鈥檚 council is in the process of finalizing projects and initiatives for TransLink鈥檚 new 鈥淎ccess for Everyone鈥� plan, which the transit authority says will need funding commitments 鈥渘o later than June 2024 to stay on track to begin expanding transit service in late 2024 in line with population growth and to support new housing targets.鈥�
READ MORE: Crowding on buses getting worse as transit use spikes in 91原创-Surrey area
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said the plan would support strong growth, 鈥渨hile tackling issues of affordability and supporting provincial and federal climate goals.鈥�
In communities like Surrey and 91原创, transit ridership is at 120 per cent of pre-COVID levels, with some routes in the cities seeing ridership levels more than double in the past four years.
Work is currently underway on the Surrey-91原创 SkyTrain extension, the first SkyTrain expansion south of the Fraser in more than 20 years.
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