The impact of service cuts needed, if TransLink can’t address a looming operating deficit, could end up costing Metro Vancouver households, the region’s mayors say.
That figure was drawn from a report presented to the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation on Thursday, based on an estimated $1 billion annual hit to the region’s economy in the event drastic service cuts are implemented.
TransLink says it is facing a $600-million funding gap starting in 2026. The budget shortfall is a result of falling gas tax revenue, fare hikes that haven’t kept pace with inflation and the growing cost of labour, fuel and maintenance.
“The reality is that TransLink is faced with a significant funding shortfall, a structural deficit that is based on a very out-of-date funding model,” mayors’ council chair Brad West said.
“And the worst thing that could happen to young people who depend upon transit is to have the service significantly reduced and that’s what’s on the table.”
The mayors say the looming service cuts would be “unacceptable” for the region and are calling on voters to
The agency has warned of massive service cuts, including slashing bus service in half, reducing SkyTrain and SeaBus service by up to one-third and potentially scrapping the West Coast Express rail service entirely.
The report from InterVISTAS Consulting found those cuts would have widespread impacts on the cost of living, housing affordability, access to jobs and traffic congestion.
It attributed up to $266 million in annual economic impact on suppressed wages and reduced productivity, up to $109 million in increased vehicle operating costs, and $10 million in higher transportation cost for goods due to congestion.
It further forecast up to $685 million annually in costs related to lower transit availability, including everything from taxi or rideshare fares to late fees for daycare pickup or appointments, and lost economic activity from people choosing to stay home.
Translink has estimated that the proposed cuts could result in a 20-per cent increase in road congestion by adding thousands of vehicles to the streets every day.
Those impacts would be particularly felt in areas facing the deepest service cuts, including South Delta, Langley, White Rock, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and the North Shore.
Those cuts would result in up to 500,000 people no longer living within walking distance of a transit stop, according to TransLink.
Metro Vancouver has seen North America’s fastest transit ridership rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to TransLink, some bus routes in Surrey and Delta are now seeing double their 2019 ridership numbers.
Other proposed service cuts include cancelling 145 bus routes and all NightBus service, reducing HandyDART service by 35 per cent and scrapping a funding program that helps pay for road maintenance and local infrastructure upgrades.
TransLink has already implemented $90 million in cuts to its operating budget.
The gap in operating funding is separate from the $21 billion in capital funding TransLink is seeking to pay for its 10-year “Access for Everyone” vision that would massively expand bus service and rapid transit.
Ottawa has pledged to create a new Federal Permanent Transit Fund that would disburse $3 billion nationally every year, but not until 2026.