Surrey council waits on BRT decision as TransLink funding unclear

Surrey council has been asked to approve the next phase of the ambitious Bus Rapid Transit plan by TransLink for King George Boulevard – but that decision has been deferred for now as TransLink works to secure the project funding.

Council has held off approving the 100 per cent design stage of the project as TransLink admits that the funding is only in place for the detailed design stages of the project.

In 2023, the regional Mayor’s Council directed TransLink to undertake project development of BRT along King George Boulevard, connecting City Centre to South Surrey, including: project scope, concept design, cost estimation, supportive policies agreements as part of the 2025 Investment Plan.

The project includes 12 stops on the route.

“BRT is a bus-based rapid transit system that provides fast, frequent, and high-capacity service through features such as dedicated bus lanes, signal priority, higher-capacity vehicles, and enhanced stations,” says a City of Surrey staff report.

“BRT offers a higher level of service than the existing RapidBus service and can be delivered faster and more cost effectively than other rapid transit – light rail transit is on the order of four times more costly than BRT while SkyTrain is 10 times more costly than BRT.”

BRT, however, does not preclude future higher-order transit and may serve as a practical precursor to other future rapid transit technology investments on the corridor.

In 2023, Council endorsed BRT on King George Boulevard from City Centre to South Surrey via Newton as the city’s top BRT priority corridor and directed staff to work with TransLink on advancing design of BRT on KGB.

Staff worked with TransLink to develop the concept design for BRT and on Sept. 29, 2025, council endorsed TransLink’s initial 10 per cent BRT design and advancing to the 30 per cent design stage gate, with city conditions required to form the next design submission.

“In early 2026, TransLink conducted public consultation to gauge community knowledge and support for BRT on King George Boulevard,” said the report. “Input received from the public was used to help inform alignment and design decisions. A total of 1,616 responses were received from Surrey residents and 84 per cent of respondents indicated BRT along King George believed it would improve transportation in the corridor.”