B.C. commits $2.4B to TransLink plans, including Surrey-Langley SkyTrain

The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project may be a little closer to reality, after a major financial pledge from the province.

The latest commitment from the B.C. government to the Mayors’ Council’s 10-year transit plan is for $2.4 billion.

That amounts to 40 per cent of the total costs of that multi-year vision.

More information on the next steps for the Surrey to Langley SkyTrain plan are expected soon. But it’s not just the SkyTrain the plan is focused on. It also includes swapping out aging diesel busses for electric alternatives, maintaining and expanding transit service, making bus service more reliable, among other things.

“These are critically important investments for a better future. It paves the way out of the pandemic and it sets the region up for a future with more ambitious plans that are outlined in the Transport 2050 document,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman, who is also the minister responsible for TransLink.

Environment Minister George Heyman speaking now, says BC government pledging $2.4-billion to TransLink Mayors' Council 10 year plan (approved yesterday), comprising 40% of plan's total costs, headlined by Surrey-Langley SkyTrain expansion. #bcpoli

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) May 27, 2022

He notes better transit infrastructure is good for everyone across the region.

“Transit increasingly is being looked at to provide opportunities for affordable housing near the transit locations, at the transit stations, and along the routes. This will mean more livable communities and more affordable communities, as well as answering the need for housing across Metro Vancouver,” added Heyman.

TransLink has seen revenue plummet over the last couple of years, with ridership at about 70 per cent now compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Heyman says the money pledged will not only help make improvements to the system, but will also “help TransLink maintain service as ridership recovers from the pandemic emergency.”

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• Expert says Surrey residents hoping for progress to SkyTrain expansion

• Delay of Surrey-Langley SkyTrain opening ‘disconcerting, disappointing’

TransLink’s 2022 Investment Plan was approved by the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation on Thursday.

“The 2022 Investment Plan that was passed yesterday will keep TransLink financially stable for the next three years, while advancing many key initiatives that we know are critically important to Metro Vancouver,” explained TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn, who added the funding will help the transit authority bring in things users want to see.

The province’s new commitment builds on previous funding in the 2018 plan, which got the ball rolling on a number of project, including the Broadway Subway line, which is currently under construction.

Mayors’ Council Chair Jonathan Cote says the funding commitment helps the group ensure “stability to public transit in a time that has been anything but stable for public transit agencies all across the world.”

TransLink still plans to increase its fares by 2.3 per cent annually until 2024. It notes this is “lower than planned in previous” plans to “keep costs low while helping to fund rising costs” of operations.

Funding stability measures do include some costs to local residents, too. The plan includes additional increases to property tax revenues of 1.15 per cent. That amounts to about $3 for an average residential property in 2023.

TransLink also plans to bring in revenue through advertisements, as well as credits from its Low Carbon Fleet Strategy.