TransLink Mayors' Council

Kudos to @metrovancouverorg.bsky.social for producing this excellent report. The affordability crisis is complex and we need solid data and analysis to understand it and beat it. See the full report here (starting on pg 13): t.co/oJttY6Annk

The current Chair of the Mayors’ Council, Brad West, was interviewed for this story, as was the previous Chair, Jonathan Cote (who oversaw the development of this report at
@metrovancouverorg.bsky.social). Hopefully @gregorrobertson.bsky.social as another former Chair will give it a read.

The fed govt’s new transit fund was announced and funded in 2020 and 2021. While it will deliver much needed new funding to @translink.ca to support new transit here, it will account for about 5% of the capital costs of our expansion plans. It is outdated and too small for the job.

Senior governments are injecting billions into building new housing, which is important and needed. But what this report demonstrates is that expanding transit can often have larger and more immediate impacts on improving affordability. We need to do both. But we aren’t.

@vancouversun.bsky.social nails the key story: “While politicians & planners have struggled for years to make housing more affordable for people, they now see an opportunity to address another major — and often overlooked — piece of the cost-of-living equation: transportation costs.”

The first key finding from the study is that spending on “good public transit is not only a transportation issue, but it actually helps deliver affordability to the region,”

“It’s not an ideological, preachy thing,” said
Mayors' Council Chair Brad West. “It’s practical common sense.”

'It's practical common sense': Metro Vancouver can't solve cost-of-living crisis without addressing the cost of getting around For several suburban areas, people spend more on commuting than on housing

“Metro Vancouver can't solve cost-of-living crisis without addressing the cost of getting around.” | Important new report on the cost of housing + transportation in Metro Vancouver. (Hint: the cost of transportation is big driver in unaffordability). vancouversun.com/news/metro-v...

Congratulations to the Capital Regional District Board for creating a regional transportation agency for Greater Victoria. Welcome to the club! www.crd.ca/news/regiona...

The new federal government must be ready to make major investments into the critical local infrastructure - from transit to parks and water and roads - required to support the new affordable housing that our big cities need.

We also joined forces w/ TTC Chair Coun. Jamaal Myers and STM Chair Coun. Éric Alan Caldwell to meet with MPs from all parties to ensure the new Parliament is ready to work together to invest in the new transit needed to support affordable housing development.

Mayors’ Council Chair Brad West & @metrovancouverorg.bsky.social Chair Mike Hurley were in Ottawa talking to new Housing and Infrastructure Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social (a former MC Chair!) about the importance of local housing-supportive infrastructure like transit, water and waste water.

YouTube video by Carole Taylor's Journal Untangling TransLink (w/ Brad West, mayor of Port Coquitlam)

Chair Brad West does a deep dive into @translink.ca funding with Carole Taylor on her show, Carole Taylor's Journal: youtu.be/3IhcfX6FqMk?...

Lessons from the 2024 Transit Service Performance Review | Movement TransLink’s 2024 stats show huge growth where service is increased and huge declines where service is cut If true, this means transit investments can reduce congestion and boost affordability almost i...

A summary of our thoughts on the 2024 Transit Service Performance Review. More to come! movementyvr.ca/lessons-from...

As Mayor of Vancouver and Chair of the Mayors’ Council, Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social played a leadership role in transforming @translink.ca and transit in Metro Vancouver.

We look forward to working with you to keep transit (and cycling and walking!) moving here and across Canada.

Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social has a deep expertise - and passion - for the critical role that transit plays in making cities more affordable, sustainable and competitive. Given the challenges facing cities and the nation, his appointment is welcome and important.

Congratulations to former Mayors’ Council Chair,
Gregor Robertson, on your appointment as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. A huge accomplishment.

As you can imagine, we have some ideas for your new gig!

Mayors’ Council chair Brad West says that “noted left-wing premier Doug Ford” funds infrastructure for Toronto transit at twice the per capita rate as the B.C. government does for TransLink.

the line gets laughs but the canada proud comment section might agree

Access for Everyone The new plan for expanding public transit across B.C.'s Lower Mainland and improving infrastructure for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

*We still have work to do*. The Access for Everyone Plan is NOT fully funded & this IP only puts off our structural deficit for 2 more years. We need a new funding model, and a new funding tool, & that will be the centre of the work of the Mayors Council in the year ahead. 4/4 accessforeveryone.ca

I am excited that the @translink.ca Board and @mayorscouncil.bsky.social both unanimously ratified a new Investment plan today. It's not the perfect plan, and every compromise in it reflects the challenges of the negotiations that occurred between the Mayors & the Provincial Government... 1/n

Getting the job done in a drama-free manner is our motto, Justin.

we are LIVE at metro Vancouver’s sky chamber meeting room, where TransLink and the Mayors’ Council is expected to approve a combination of fare and tax hikes necessary for its new investment plan and stay fiscally sustainable for the next three years

some background: www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7507285

British Columbia has lost an incredible advocate and a fighter for justice in the passing of Dan Coulter. We will keep Dan and his family in our hearts and remember him in the work that we do.

This third element of our success - keep expanding to meet growing demand - has faltered in the last 5 years, since the pandemic broke our funding model. But with record pop. growth, now is the time for a new transit funding model to enable transit expansion and improvement.

How did we do this?
- Tightly integrated land-use and transportation planning (put housing and jobs close to transit, and vice versa).
- Provide high quality transit service, and not just rail-based transit but regular old bus too.
- Keep expanding to meet growing demand.

These results underline how important transit is to our region. We are 3rd overall in Canada & US in per-capita ridership, behind only NYC-NJ and Montreal, and ahead of Toronto...and all three of these metro areas are a century older, with a 50+ year head start in public transit.

Metro Vancouver has Canada's 2nd-highest transit ridership per capita | Urbanized TransLink's Metro Vancouver public transit network now has Canada's second-highest transit ridership per capita, behind Montreal.

A good piece by @iamkennethchan.bsky.social in the Hive on new regional per-capita ridership comparisons between Metro Vancouver and other metro areas (spoiler: we are doing pretty well). 1/X dailyhive.com/vancouver/ca...

The Access for Everyone Plan B.C.'s Lower Mainland mayors are asking the federal government to renew its partnership with the Region and the Province, so we can implement the Access for Everyone plan without delay.

For more information on our Access for Everyone Plan, that will 2X bus service, build 9 new Bus Rapid Transit lines, extend SkyTrain to UBC, build the Burnaby Mountain Gondola, increase funding for regional cycling infrastructure by 10X and more, check out: accessforeveryone.ca/the-plan/

YouTube video by Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation Mayors' Council Meeting - Nov 2024

Our meeting starts at 9AM tomorrow. You can attend in person or watch the live-stream at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lyj...

We have a meeting tomorrow, and the agenda is posted. We will be discussing the new projects and services planned for the first phase of our Access for Everyone Plan which is set to be approved in April 2025 (once we have addressed our structural deficit). www.translink.ca/-/media/tran...