Vancouver transit advocates respond to federal funding for TransLink

A Vancouver transit advocate says promised federal funding for TransLink falls short of addressing a Canada-wide problem.

On Monday, it was announced that the federal government is kicking in more than $663 million in funding for Metro Vancouver transit infrastructure over the next decade, beginning next year.

In a statement, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the funding is coming from the federal government’s Canada Public Transit Fund, which was announced in 2024.

Denis Agar with Movement Metro Vancouver Transit Riders says the feds need to look beyond big cities.

“It’ll help TransLink keep the trains running and tune up the buses. But it’s really a drop in the bucket compared to the need. And then the reason why it’s a federal problem is because we’re seeing transit overcrowding and just really falling short all across the country,” said Agar.

A statement from TransLink and the federal government says the money will be handed out from 2026 through 2036, targeting “key improvements” to public transit in the face of “rapid population growth.”

It says the funding will allow TransLink to improve existing transit infrastructure and will go toward a “much-needed transit expansion in Metro Vancouver.”

Agar says expansion is good, but the funding should also be applied to preventing upcoming service cuts.

“As I understand it, it can only really be used to tune up existing buses and trains or to build new services, but it can’t be used to run the services that they have, and so we’re in a situation where the feds are funding new service, but there’s a risk that TransLink might actually have to cut service next year. So the question is, how are they finding what’s being paid for?”

Movement is calling on the government to assess transit across Canada and create a plan that improves regional connectivity and reduces congestion on the roads.

“I want them to look at the overcrowding that exists in every community and to look at how there is almost no bus service to rural Canada anymore and to come up with a plan that costs that out. That figures out, ‘Okay, how can we solve this problem and actually get Canadians moving and give them an alternative to driving?’” said Agar.

Movement says the plan could include a focus on how to make transit cheaper to build, like in Spain or South Korea, where the group claims each kilometre of subway costs a fraction of the cost in Canada.

Ahead of a potential recession, Agar says there’s never been a better time to draw up a plan that helps eliminate transit deserts.

“We have whole cities in rural Canada that just don’t have transit anymore. The Greyhound’s gone. There’s nothing left. How do people get in and out of their community? How do they get to a doctor’s appointment in a nearby town if they’ve lost their driver’s licence, or if they don’t have the family to give them a ride? These are serious questions that have impacts on people’s health, and it’s ultimately a federal problem.”

—With files from Mike Lloyd and The Canadian Press.