More promised cash for TransLink, but not the cash it needs

What happened: The federal government made a big announcement about transit on Friday, promising $1.5 billion for TransLink as part of the Public Transit Fund to expand transit service in Metro Vancouver, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

• That’s separate from another announcement of $663 million, or $66 million a year, made in January to fund already announced projects. 

Yes, but: The funding is not operational, meaning it won’t cover funding of current services, but is set aside for expansion throughout the region, such as more bus links in the North Shore. It’s also meant to spread out over 10 years. The funding is critical to help pay for TransLink’s Access for Everyone plan, which would double transit service, add a gondola to SFU’s Burnaby Mountain Campus and extend the Broadway Subway to UBC amongst many other plans, according to Global. 

• The funding also only begins in 2026, which means the federal Liberals would have to win the election. The funding would pay for the expansion of King George Boulevard in Surrey, a Langley-Maple Ridge route and a route connecting the North Shore and Brentwood in Burnaby. So sadly, not much for Vancouver!

The problem: This funding does nothing to address TransLink’s most urgent issue, namely, its $600 million dollar operating deficit we’ve covered extensively here at the Lookout. Most of this funding deals with capital expansion, rather than operating funding such as paying staff that is required each year to keep trains and busses moving. 

Other parties: Back in January, the NDP called for funding for the Access for Everyone plan. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives haven’t said much about transit funding but promised a few years ago to withhold funding for transit if cities did not build more high-density housing, according to Urbanized. 

Looking ahead: The election, sadly for this publication, will not be fought around the intricacies of municipal policy, but instead, US-Canada relations. We should expect more transit announcements in the future, but it won’t be a major part of the election. It would also be surprising if any party promises to fund TransLink’s operating budget deficit, as this type of funding is not particularly announcement-worthy.