TransLink seeks property tax boost
One-time bump needed to cover costs, expansion, authority says
TransLink plans to increase fares and ask for a one-year bump to Metro Vancouver property taxes in order to catch up with rising ridership, stabilize its finances and expand the region's transit infrastructure.
A 2024 investment plan presented earlier this month to the Metro Vancouver Regional District board proposes fare increases of 2.3 per cent this year — an increase that was approved back in 2022 — then four per cent in 2025, and three per cent in 2026. Beyond that, TransLink is currently estimating two per cent annual increases to cover off inflation.
The report requests a onetime $80-million increase in property taxes from Metro Vancouver residents. It does not include an increase in fuel or parking taxes.
TransLink also asks for an increase to its borrowing limit from $6.8 billion to $8.5 billion.
The plan is based on rising transit use, which has rebounded to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the region and as much as 120 per cent in southeast Metro. The report notes roughly one-third of trips in Vancouver, Surrey and Langley are overcrowded, leaving large numbers of transit users passed up by full buses.
It calls for expanding bus service by three per cent across the network beginning in September, starting SeaBus service 15 minutes earlier each day, increasing peak service on Canada Line and improving late-night HandyDART service. TransLink also plans $21 million in transit projects this year.
The 2024 plan is designed as a bridge to a more comprehensive 2025 plan being developed by the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation, TransLink's board and the B.C. government, which could feature more aggressive revenue-generating ideas and expansion projects on a longer timeline.
TransLink and the mayors' council are required by law to approve a 10-year investment plan at least once every three years, the last having been completed in 2022.
The report notes TransLink is operating under a structural deficit and needs to boost service in the region, which is growing faster than anticipated in earlier projections.
After being presented at a closed meeting in mid-March, a public consultation period on the plan opened on March 22 and ends on April 5. Comments can be made by reading the plan at translinklistens.ca and emailing, phoning or filling out a feedback form.
The 2024 plan will be considered at a joint meeting of the mayors' council and TransLink board on April 25. The report warns that failing to approve the interim plan would mean no new buses or infrastructure improvements before the broader 2025 plan is approved.