The Lower Mainland’s 10 most transit-dependent electoral districts
Posted February 20, 2024 7:54 am.
Last Updated February 20, 2024 7:58 am.
A B.C. non-profit is out with a list of the top 10 most transit-dependent electoral districts in the Lower Mainland, with the hopes of pushing the province for more funding.
The list, released by Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, may surprise some people, according to executive director Denis Agar.
“You might expect the West End and downtown to be right at the top, but actually, the top districts are all a little bit farther east … A lot of them are along the Expo Line, but some of them have no SkyTrain within their borders at all,” he explained.
“I think one of the reasons we have so many shortcomings with transit in our region is because elected officials don’t necessarily view transit riders as their constituents,” Agar continued. “So I wanted to draw that connection between elected officials and the transit riders in their districts.”
The list highlights Vancouver-Renfrew, represented by Health Minister Adrian Dix; Vancouver-Langara, represented by BC United MLA Michael Lee; and Vancouver-Kensington, represented by Mabel Elmore of the NDP, as the top three most transit-dependent districts in the region.
The three east and south Vancouver districts are followed closely behind by Burnaby South-Metrotown and Surrey City Centre.
Overall, Agar says in the 10 districts noted by the organization, transit riders make up a “really large percentage of the population.”
“It really goes to show that buses move the majority of transit riders in Metro Vancouver, so a lot of our top districts on this ranking are totally bus dependent,” he said of the list.
The list comes just days before the 2024 B.C. budget is set to be unveiled. Agar says he hopes the breakdown will encourage the 10 MLAs who represent these districts “to fight internally to make sure that this budget provides enough funding for TransLink to buy more buses.”
“We need more buses on the street and we need it, like, yesterday,” he told CityNews.
Agar says he’s even heard from concerned mayors, like Port Coquitlam’s Brad West, who worry the transit needs won’t be met in the next provincial fiscal plan.
“Across this region, we’re seeing unprecedented overcrowding and people being passed by full buses, and we can’t wait any longer for better bus service,” he added.
