Two North Shore mayors are challenging B.C.’s political leaders to commit to rapid transit for the region and increased transit funding.
On Tuesday, City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan and District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little reiterated the warning that massive transit cuts are coming in 2026 without a long-term fix to TransLink’s structural deficit.
Buchanan said such cuts would have “catastrophic consequences,” including the elimination of numerous bus routes and a projected increase in traffic congestion of 20 per cent.
“This is not a stunt. This is fact. This is real,” Buchanan said.
“Anyone living on the North Shore knows traffic congestion has reached a tipping point. People are spending too much time commuting and not enough time living. We are all feeling the frustration.”
TransLink is facing a $600-million gap in operating funding after 2025, which it says is a result of falling gas tax revenue, fares hikes that haven’t kept pace with inflation, and surging maintenance, labour and construction costs.
The mayors want a pledge from all parties to fix TransLink’s funding model.
They also called Tuesday for a promise from leaders to implement bus rapid transit (BRT) on the North Shore, one of TransLink’s top priorities in its as-of-yet unfunded 10-year Access for Everyone plan.
TransLink says BRT, which involves dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority and rail-style stations instead of bus stops, is capable of moving similar volumes of passengers as light rail or SkyTrain, but can be built much quicker and at a fraction of the cost.
“The health of our transit network is directly tied to metro Vancouver’s cost of living and housing affordability. Without public transit, accessible housing options become limited, and without reliable and consistent public transportation, residents will be forced to turn to more expensive options to commute,” Little said.
“Tell voters what exactly you will do to save transit if you win the election.”
On Tuesday, the BC NDP pledged to build a bus rapid transit line from Park Royal in West Vancouver to Metrotown in Burnaby.
North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP candidate Bowinn Ma said the party would commit to construction on the BRT line in 2025, and begin working on plans to upgrade it to either light rail or SkyTrain in the long term.
“There are probably few experiences as universally frustrating to people who live on the North Shore … as traffic and traffic congestion,” Ma said.
“Part of what makes it incredibly frustrating is that there are no other viable options available to people who are travelling over the Second Narrows and out east.”
The BC Green Party pointed to its transportation platform, which includes a promise to fund and expand service levels in 2025, commits to doubling the number of buses within three years and calls for an all-party committee to create a long-term funding mechanism for sustainable transportation.
Global News is seeking comment from the BC Conservatives.
In July, the party committed to two years of stopgap funding for TransLink while it conducts an “accountability audit” of TransLink and said it would seek B.C.’s “fair share” of transit funding from the federal government.
Ottawa has pledged to create a new Federal Permanent Transit Fund that would disburse $3 billion nationally every year, but not until 2026.
TransLink has warned that without a long-term funding fix, it will be forced to implement service cuts, including slashing bus service in half, reducing SkyTrain and SeaBus service by up to one-third and potentially scrapping the West Coast Express rail service entirely.
Other proposed service cuts include cancelling 145 bus routes and all NightBus service, reducing HandyDART service by 35 per cent and scrapping a funding program that helps pay for road maintenance and local infrastructure upgrades.
TransLink has already implemented $90 million in cuts to its operating budget.