Mayors’ Council must keep transit plan rolling along

Ridership rising faster than planned, says Jonathan Cote.

Transit and the Mayors’ Council have been in the news a lot lately, and not always as “good news” stories. As we head into a new year, I want to look at the big picture.

Let’s start in late 2016, when transit in Metro Vancouver turned a corner.

In that year, after eight years of frozen transit service levels during a period in which 250,000 people moved here, our region got back into the business of expanding transit to meet growing demand: more bus, SeaBus, HandyDart, West Coast Express and SkyTrain service; new funding for roads, cycling and walking.

The Mayors’ Council accomplished this expansion by approving the first phase of its 10-Year Vision for Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation. The 10-Year Vision committed to massive increases to all transit services in every corner of the region.

We kept rolling and approved the second phase of the 10-Year Vision (out of three phases in total) in June 2018: the largest transit expansion in B.C. history. TransLink then turned these plans into real-world service by adding new bus and SkyTrain service starting within weeks of our votes, with more coming every few months. Fast action.

On top of that, we are experiencing the third straight year of five to seven per cent annual ridership growth, and no end in sight.

This kind of ridership growth is the envy of other big cities, most of whom face flat and even declining ridership. Something unique and important is happening here that we should celebrate and nurture.

OK, great. Let’s all take a victory lap, right? Not so fast. For you strap-hangers out there, it isn’t all good news, is it? I know, because

I am a regular transit user too. Like you, I experience “bus full” signs.

I know what it is like to jam onto a packed SkyTrain car, and not always at rush hour; it happens midday and weekends, too.

I know, like you, that our region’s exploding ridership isn’t just a good news story. I know it means more people trying to cram onto our buses and SkyTrains.

In fact, it feels like all that new service in the 10-Year Vision we have been announcing isn’t really making a difference.

Well, it isn’t just you.

The 10-Year Vision was designed in 2014 to reduce a decade-long transit deficit that left us with overcrowding, pass-ups and underserved neighbourhoods.

We planned new service to accommodate three per cent annual growth in ridership. It was a target considered high at the time.

Fast forward to today, and we may have a problem.

We planned for annual three per cent ridership growth, but we are now at almost double that rate.

That means all of the new service rolled out in 2016 and 2017 and the new services to come over the next few years as new buses and SkyTrain cars arrive from manufacturers may not keep us ahead of booming demand.

We won’t be falling further behind, but things won’t get better out there, either.

What does this mean for the Mayors’ Council?

First, we need to remember that no matter how many ribbons we cut, we have to consider your lived experiences. Ribbons don’t reduce congestion. That, in turn, means we can’t rest on our successes to date — we need to keep moving ahead.

That is what the new Mayors’ Council has set out to do.

I know we have had challenging debates about rapid transit in Surrey and Langley.

But, I also know we have a group of mayors with new ideas and fresh energy to find solutions to this and other challenges.

It is easy to get distracted by the drama of the moment, but I urge all of us, mayors, senior governments, and the public, to stay focused on our plan by delivering the remainder of the 10-Year Vision quickly and begin planning for the new services needed beyond the vision to keep our region moving.

We planned for annual three per cent ridership growth, but we are now at almost double that rate.