TransLink's Big $810 Million Leap: Growing Transit Service in Metro Vancouver

As I've been posting and you've likely seen in the news, for a variety of factors, such as the continued drop in fuel tax revenue, TransLink needs a new stable funding source to help plug a $579 million budget shortfall. Fixing this shortfall will require the region's mayors and the provincial government to work hand-in-hand to ensure that transit service isn't cut by around 50% in our region starting in 2026.

Of course, we know we need to actually expand transit service (which is experiencing overcrowing) in our region, which is why the mayors created the "Access for Everyone" plan. This plan is to be delivered in three phases over the next decade.

Fixing the budget shortfall and implementing phase one of the Access for Everyone plan will require $810 million in new funding starting in 2026. This funding would be one of the biggest lifts in the history of TransLink, but it is achievable.

At a high level, phase one of the Access for Everyone plan includes:

• Increasing bus service by 15%, including three new Bus Rapid Transit routes (such as the Maple Ridge/Langley route.)
• Increasing SeaBus, West Coast Express, and SkyTrain frequency or railcars
• Expanding HandyDART service
• Building a Gondola to SFU Burnaby
• Expanding Bus Depots and Preparing for Battery Electrics Buses
• Buying Zero-Emission Buses
• Keeping the Transit System in a State of Good Repair
• Rolling Out Customer Washrooms in the Transit System
• Funding Local Bike and Walking Infrastructure
• Maintaining and Growing the Major Road Network
• Providing Funding to Improve Bus Speed and Reliability (such as by building more bus lanes.)
• Improving Golden Ears Way

Please check out the November 28 Mayors' Council agenda for more information. You will be hearing a lot more about phase one of the Access for Everyone plan in the coming months.