Mayors seek new funding for transit
Pandemic shows future reliance on fares, gas tax unsustainable
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in the way Metro Vancouver’s transit system is funded, something the region’s mayors hope to address during the provincial budget process.
Fares pay for 57 per cent of TransLink’s operating expenses, and 25 per cent of revenues come from a regional fuel tax. Both income sources have taken a huge hit during the pandemic, with ridership falling by more than 80 per cent and the fuel tax revenue dropping 60 per cent.
In a submission to the provincial government’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, TransLink’s Mayors’ Council is reviving the long-standing conversation around funding alternatives.
“I think this is actually a really good opportunity for us to kind of re-envision how public transit should be funded,” said council chairman and New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Coté. “Relying heavily on transit fares and the gas tax to be the main sources of funds to operate a transit system does have its issues, and has obviously been incredibly vulnerable in the current public health crisis.”
The conversation about new, stable revenue sources isn’t a new one for the mayors — it comes up whenever there are plans and projects that need funding — and although opinions vary on what those sources should be, Coté said there is “a pretty strong consensus” that property taxes, gas taxes and fares are not the best ways to pay for transit.
Civic leaders are always hesitant to put a heavier burden on property owners, and gas tax is a declining revenue source due to lower vehicle use, better fuel efficiency and electrification. Although ridership has been growing in Metro Vancouver, fare revenue can fluctuate.
Coté said there have long been discussions with the province about different funding options, and “we don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel.”
“From the Mayors’ Council perspective, we’re very open to having a good conversation about a variety of different methods there, but we really kind of need to hear from the provincial government,” he said.
Mayors’ Council vice-chairman Jack Froese, the mayor of the Township of Langley, said everything is on the table, from mobility pricing — which was studied two years ago — and land-value capture, to sales tax, a vehicle levy, and carbon tax.
“It might be an opportunity to try to take a fresh look at everything,” Froese said.
“I think there’s a lot of different ways to fund it and to make it sustainable, but we also have to make sure that as we move forward, the organization is able to meet the demand.”
Re-evaluating funding tools is part of a provincial rebuilding strategy for B.C.’s transit and transportation sector that the Mayors’ Council is asking the province to develop, along with a multi-year recovery plan to deal with the financial hardship caused by COVID -19. Depending on how long the pandemic lasts and how quickly ridership returns, TransLink could lose $544 million to $1.4 billion by the end of next year.