National

B.C.'s TransLink gets $479M to avoid service cuts

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Mar, 2023 04:10 PM

VANCOUVER - British Columbia is injecting nearly $500 million into the Metro Vancouver transit system to save it from what officials say is a feared "death spiral" sparked in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premier David Eby says the $479 million in provincial funding for TransLink will keep fares affordable, avoid service cuts and enable future transit expansion plans to continue.

TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn says losses in ridership revenue because of the pandemic and higher service costs due to inflation and supply chain issues have put unprecedented strains on the company's finances.

Brad West, mayor of Port Coquitlam and chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, says without the province's help, the system was facing service cuts and fare increases, the hallmarks of a "death spiral" facing transit in many other cities.

In May, a delegation of Mayors from the @mayors_council will travel to Ottawa to press the Federal Government to come to the table to support our communities and ensure that some of the money that leaves our region is reinvested here in a transit system that meets our needs!
— Brad West (@BradWestPoCo) March 15, 2023

The council, which has representatives from 21 municipalities in the region, had asked the provincial and federal government to step in with a total of $500 million to avoid service cuts.

West says it's "incredibly unfortunate that the federal government didn't step up on this occasion" but that mayors will continue to push for federal support including a call to accelerate Ottawa's planned permanent transit funding.

Eby says ridership is coming back after the pandemic, but slower than expected.

"But what we definitely don't want to do right now is have TransLink cut back services, causing people not to come back to transit because the service simply isn't there for them, causing fewer people to choose transit, causing further cutbacks because of reduced revenue."

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Long lineup in London as queen lies in state

Equipped with sleeping bags, books and backpacks of food, they formed a queue that was nearly four kilometres long as of 6 p.m. local time. With Westminster Palace silhouetted across the river, people waited patiently as the line wound its way past the London Eye and across Lambeth Bridge.

Long lineup in London as queen lies in state

Northeast B.C., blaze scanned to confirm perimeter

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the scan was done late Tuesday. It will also be used to identify hot spots on the east flank of the 287-square kilometre wildfire, nearest to the W.A.C. Bennet Dam and the evacuated community of Hudson's Hope.

Northeast B.C., blaze scanned to confirm perimeter

Man fatally shot in Burnaby, B.C., attack

A statement from Burnaby RCMP says the attack happened just after 11 p.m. Tuesday along a busy stretch of Hastings Street near Confederation Park. The unnamed victim died at the scene.

Man fatally shot in Burnaby, B.C., attack

Reward doubled to $500K for B.C. gondola vandalism

It comes as RCMP reveal more details about their investigation and share a photo of a suspect who may have been responsible for cutting the cable on the Sea to Sky Gondola twice, in 2019 and 2020.

Reward doubled to $500K for B.C. gondola vandalism

Schools not to blame for high COVID rates: doctor

Dr. Bonnie Henry has been criticized by some parents, advocacy groups and health-care professionals who say a major jump in infections occurred during the school year among children under age 10.

Schools not to blame for high COVID rates: doctor

B.C. shuts schools, gives workers day off Sept. 19

A statement from the province says it's a national day to reflect on the "incredible life of Canada's Queen and the longest-serving monarch in British history." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that Monday will be a holiday for federal government workers to mourn the Queen on the day of her state funeral.