The TransLink Mayors Council said it’s feeling left out of needed funding after the release of B.C.’s provincial budget last week.
While there was some money budgeted for the Broadway Subway Project, the council said it was hoping for more funding for TransLinks’ 10-year plan, which has a price tag of around $20 billion.
The plan includes doubling buses by 2035, the extension of the millennium line to UBC, rapid transit to the north shore, and the gondola to SFU.
“We’re planning to go to Ottawa to send a delegation of mayors and we’re looking forward to that,” said Brad West, TransLink Mayors Council Chair and Port Coquitlam mayor.
“We also know the federal government is going to be announcing its budget soon, so we will be paying very close attention to that.”
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The mayors council said if there’s no extra funding on the table in the next two years, TransLink will be forced to make major cuts in transportation services.
“Fares are down, and gas tax revenue is down because we have more and more people transitioning to electric vehicles,” West said.
“Those three things in conjunction are creating a real fiscal challenge for the transit agency.”
The mayors council made a formal request last month to the federal government to provide $250 million in additional emergency funds to be matched by the B.C. government.
So far, there’s been only silence from Ottawa, the council said.
“Transit is also facing inflationary pressure, just like everyone else,” said West.
Council said there’s pressure to tackle the 10-year list of projects soon, as the region’s population is expected to grow by more than one million people by 2050, according to the report done by Metro Vancouver.
“Looking ahead to population growth, we are calling on the government to speed up the delivery of the permanent transit fund by two years to 2024. This will ensure that we don’t have to delay projects in the 10-year priority plan,” West said.
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