Surrey narrowly approves BRT, with some councillors touting LRT instead

Surrey city council narrowly approved moving to the 100 per cent design phase for TransLink’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit route along King George Boulevard.

Narrow because five councillors voted against the motion, including mayoral candidate Linda Annis, plus Doug Elford, Mike Bose, and Mandeep Nagra.

TransLink has funding in place to deal with all the design stages, but the overall project funding is not yet in place, but the transit authority says that is not uncommon for such projects.

Annis said the project needs a “rethink” and that light rail transit is the better option.

““Transit is all about the future, not a temporary fix,” said Annis. “Light Rail Transit (LRT) requires a bigger investment, but in the end, it provides higher capacity and scalability than a rapid bus, and in a growing city like ours, we should be building for the future, and our growing population.”

The King George Boulevard BRT will run from Surrey City Centre to Semiahmoo Town Centre along a 19‑kilometre corridor with 12 stations and dedicated bus lanes along most of the route. 

“As Surrey continues to grow, we need transit solutions now that move more people efficiently and reliably,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn. “BRT is the best solution for King George Boulevard because it can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively to manage congestion, strengthen connections between town centres, and support the city’s long-term growth.” 

BRT is more advanced than existing RapidBus (previously known as B-line) and includes:

• dedicated lanes for buses with signal priority at intersections for faster travel times
• higher capacity buses running frequently with extended hours for shorter wait times
• dedicated stations with offboard fare collection, quick and convenient access platforms, advanced real time information, wayfinding, and lighting for a safer and more efficient transit experience.

Annis said TransLink has not provided any price tag for the rapid bus, but she says it will cost hundreds of millions.

“When TransLink presented to council last week, we were told that down the road we could make a decision to switch from rapid bus to another system, which makes absolutely no sense,” said Annis. “Why would we spend hundreds of millions, only to make a change down the road? Why not build what we actually need now?”

The group SkyTrain for Surrey was quick to disagree with Annis about the merits of light rail transit, saying it’s too expensive for what you cities receive.

“Practically everywhere we look, we see proof that surface light rail is just not worth it — whether it’s the ballooning costs for projects in cities like Mississauga or Quebec City (both cities’ projects now cost more than our Surrey Langley SkyTrain), or the delay incidents plaguing recently built light rail systems (Toronto’s brand new light rail lines have already seen four different shutdown events in less than 2 months due to accidents and blocked tracks). Despite this, light rail defenders continue to spread misinformation about both SkyTrain and BRT,” said Daryl Dela Cruz, founder of the group.

Annis disagreed about BRT.

TransLink has selected Surrey to host a BRT pilot station near Holland Park and the King George SkyTrain Station. The pilot will test the station design in real-world conditions before broader rollout, including near-level boarding, real-time information, improved lighting, and weather protection, using existing bus service. 

“At the end of the day, rapid bus is just a bus, with limited capacity, even if the stops and stations are dressed up, and the buses are made to look futuristic in artistic renderings.

“LRT will help connect our neighbourhoods, and it provides more capacity and options for growth,” noted Annis. “So, why would we spend hundreds of millions on buses, when what we really need is a modern LRT system that can grow as our city grows. Rapid bus looks and feels like we’re being offered a second-best substitute for what we really need.”