The Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council on Transportation is calling on the federal government and provincial candidates to outline their plans for improving and investing in transit for the region.
Speaking at a press event Tuesday, a group of representatives, including the council, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBT), and TransLink, gathered to demand that leaders “heed the call” and address population growth, infrastructure, and mobility.
In early July, TransLink said it was projecting a shortage of over $600 million in operating funding annually, starting at the end of 2025. In May, the transit provider said its projects were in jeopardy due to a “fiscal cliff,” adding that it must secure a new funding model to resolve a coming financial crisis.
“This isn’t about hearing politicians say the right thing, because we always hear provincial and federal politicians say that they support transit and agree that we need to expand it. This is about doing something. We need real action and commitments to work with the Mayor’s Council and TransLink on the new funding model that helps us avoid having to even contemplate cutting these services,” said Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West.
West says a recent poll showed that 70 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents believe that transit is an important issue in the provincial election, and understand that cuts to the system would be devastating.
GVBT President Bridgitte Anderson says transit is an essential part of the economy, adding that every minute lost to road traffic is a minute that could be spent supporting local business.
She says a recent report by the board ranked Metro Vancouver 11th out of 20 peer cities for urban mobility, claiming that access to rapid transit outside central areas is declining faster than in the core without the necessary funding.
“Tens of thousands of workers in Greater Vancouver who depend on transit to reach their workplaces every day will be left stranded. Instead of shrinking our resources, we must commit to finding sustainable solutions that will allow us to grow our transit system in line with the needs of our expanding region,” said Anderson.
West and others insisted that their call to leadership was non-partisan.
“We want the political parties, all of them, to put their best foot forward, and then ultimately, the voters of this region will take a look at their platforms and make their decisions,” he said.
He said he hopes the period ahead of the Oct. 19 election is a time when Metro Vancouver residents make their transit demands clear.