TransLink ‘journeys’ hit a plateau: report

Rides on TransLink are down from previous years and funding for its Access for Everyone plan is tens of billions of dollars behind, according to a report by TransLink staff.

The result is that TransLink staff have recommended not updating the Regional Transportation Strategy – instead merely re-approve it without amendment.

The report, being presented this week to the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, includes a chart on “transit journeys” in Metro Vancouver that showed:

• Rides per capita went from 100 in 2019 to 75 in 2025.
• Hours per capita went from 2.56 in 2029 to 2.37 in 2025.

“While transit journeys saw rapid post-pandemic recovery, they have plateaued in recent years and remain below pre-pandemic levels,” the report said.

The report also included a dire warning about TransLink’s “structural deficit.”

“In the event that TransLink’s structural deficit is not resolved and planned service reductions begin in 2028 … service hours and per capital service hours would decline dramatically.”

Funding has always been troublesome for TransLink as initiatives to raise money through various means, such as a vehicle tax, have been met with tough opposition.

Service cuts were predicted before the last-minute 2025 Investment Plan was approved for short-term funding.

But that funding hasn’t been enough to pursue most of the Access for Everyone capital projects, an “ambitious” – according to the report – $30 billion, 10-year priorities roadmap for TransLink.

“Since approval, TransLink’s operating and capital environment has been shaped by pandemic recovery, financial stabilization, limited senior government funding commitments, and rising construction and operating costs,” said the report. “As a result, only a small portion of the AfE program has been funded to date, with additional capital availability over the near to medium term estimated to be in the range of approximately $1.5B to $4B.”

This uncertainty is why some on Surrey city council were hesitant about approving the next phase of the Bus Rapid Transit route that’s proposed along King George Highway.