The TransLink Mayors' Council heard a "hypothetical" scenario Thursday that will see transit service all but decimated in this region if senior levels of government don't step up to provide necessary funding to meet need and growth.
The council heard a dire presentation from TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn and Sarah Ross, vice-president of planning and policy, at its July 25 meeting. As earlier reported by the Now-Leader, TransLink is facing a $600-million annual shortfall as of 2026 and because of that is pursuing an ambitious $90 million-per-year plan to reduce costs.
Quinn said the current funding model is unsustainable, and to "avoid reaching the edge of our financial cliff" the remedy could include cutting bus service in half, with the cancelling of up to 145 bus routes in the region and all night bus services.
"There would be almost no transit services operating in Langley, White Rock, South Delta, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and much of the North Shore," Quinn warned. "It could look like reducing SkyTrain and Seabus services by up to 30 per cent. West Coast Express could be eliminated completely. HandyDart service could be offering medical service only."
More than 900,000 people who rely on public transit each week would be impacted, he added, "with many having to find new ways to get around the region, drastically impacting congestion, hindering our ability to meet transit-oriented housing policies and preventing us from supporting this region's unprecedented growth."
More than 675,000 people would no longer be within walking distance of transit, he said, and 265,000 jobs would no longer be accessible by transit.
"Additionally the ripple effects of these cuts would be felt long after the initial reductions. If these scenarios ever become a reality, ramping service back up would be incredibly challenging. Reinstating routes and rebuilding capacity would require significant resources and time, potentially taking up to 10 years just to return to current service levels. So regardless if you take transit, these cuts would be felt by everyone in the region."
Traffic congestion, Quinn predicts, would increase by 20 per cent "as tens of thousands of new cars push into the road, impacting everyone's ability to get to get to work, school, medical appointments or even just the grocery store."
This was followed by a second report outlining the council's plan to try to avoid what chairman Brad West described as an "incredibly stark report" and "catastrophic scenarios" that could well become reality if the next provincial government doesn't come into office "ready on Day 1 to work with us.
"The consequences that are outlined in this report are hard to imagine, and yet I think it's incredibly important that we're very up-front with the public about the reality TransLink is in," West said. "There is enough time to avoid this situation.
"None of us want to paint scary pictures or engage in doom and gloom, but I think we have a responsibility to be very straight up with the public in this region." "We've talked a lot about how the federal government has not stepped up in the way that they need to," a frustrated West said. "Quite frankly it's just not good enough, particularly when the pressure that our system is under right now stems from so many decisions that are made in Ottawa with respect to population growth, and the idea that the federal government would wash their hands of those decisions and not step up in a meaningful way I think is incredibly irresponsible."
The council then unveiled its unanimously supported plan to "save" public transit in Metro Vancouver by calling on all political parties ahead of the elections to commit to a series of fixes including providing funding to address "overcrowding and record-setting population growth" here and create a permanent $3.4 billion per year Access for Everyone fund, indexed to population growth and inflation, over the next decade that would see $500 million per year "in new, sustainable operating revenues." Also, the council is calling on the provincial government to provide fare discounts or exemptions for low-income youth, adults and seniors.
