Surrey residents paying as much for commuting as they do for housing: report

Many people choose to move Surrey because the housing prices – whether you are buying or renting – are generally found to be cheaper than Vancouver.

But a new regional report says that finding cheaper housing comes with a different cost for many of those same people – transportation.

The Metro Vancouver report says that Surrey residents are actually paying nearly as much for their transportation – due to long commutes in their vehicles – than they are for their housing.

The report lists Surrey transportation costs as just slightly under the annual housing costs.

“Beyond the upfront cost of personal vehicles, transportation costs are paid in smaller increments (e.g. fuel, vehicle maintenance, financing, or transit fares), can vary from month to month, and may be spread across different modes (e.g. personal vehicles, transit, or ride-hailing),” the report said.

“The highest average transportation costs in Metro Vancouver tend to be found at the edges of the region, in communities such as Maple Ridge, Delta, and the Township of Langley – although it is notable that the Urban Centres in such communities enjoy lower transportation costs than their surrounding areas,” says the new housing and transportation report, a follow up to a study the Metro Vancouver regional government conducted in 2015.

Such is the cost of living so far away from where many people work, with local residents getting into their vehicles and driving long distances to get to work.

Now Surrey does, of course, have a SkyTrain line and the report says that those who live close to the line pay far less than others. The problem is that Surrey is a big place and many people aren’t close to SkyTrain – or they work in places where the SkyTrain doesn’t travel.

That leaves buses. For those folks, TransLink has been working on upgrades to get more people to take transit.

TransLink has recently developed a new funding and investment program to boost service, including more service on 50 overcrowded bus routes.

TransLink was facing a structural deficit of more than $600 million annually because of an operating funding shortage. This was caused primarily by declining fuel tax revenue, increasing costs, and fare increases being capped under the rate of inflation between 2020 and 2024. This new plan will fully fund TransLink operations until the end of 2027, TransLink says.

This Investment Plan will be funded through several measures, including a $20 increase in property taxes for median households in 2025 and a fare increase of $0.14 for the average trip starting in July 2026. The Government of British Columbia is also investing in TransLink operations, including a one-time contribution of $312 million and a commitment to a new revenue source by 2027.

Metro Vancouver is trying to make the case that housing and transportation costs – the two largest costs for a typical household – should be considered together in conversations about affordability in this region.

Direct housing costs are well-understood by renters and mortgage-holders: rents or mortgage payments, property taxes and condominium fees, and utilities.

“Transportation costs, on the other hand, are less visible,” reads the report.

Key findings include:

• Transportation costs can rival, and sometimes exceed, housing costs.
• Centres and Corridors, especially those along the SkyTrain network, consistently demonstrate lower combined costs.
• Rental tenure greatly scales the affordability benefits of SkyTrain.
• Population density alone does not materially affect housing and transportation affordability.
• The findings suggest that location and tenure matter.
• Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, for example, is unlikely to contribute to affordability if it does not offer transit proximity, rental tenure, and convenient access to jobs and services.
• Transit-Oriented Areas around SkyTrain, on the other hand, could facilitate greater levels of affordability, particularly for purpose-built rental.

“These insights support policies that promote transit-oriented development (particularly affordable rental housing), strategic housing growth in affordable areas, investment in improved public transit and job creation in transit-accessible locations, all of which can improve regional affordability and guide future growth management,” the report said.

The lowest average transportation costs are found in the Metro Core, with West End households experiencing average transportation costs below $10,000 annually.

Other Urban Centres along the Expo SkyTrain line, including Metrotown, New Westminster and Surrey Metro Centre, also have low average transportation costs.