TransLink OKs 2022 investment plan

TransLink’s 2022 Investment Plan last week was approved by the transit agency’s board and the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The plan will advance key transit priorities while stabilizing funding over the next three years, TransLink officials said in a press release. The agency has registered ridership growth, surpassing 70% of pre-pandemic ridership, but the drop in ridership since 2019 has resulted in significantly reduced fare revenue. Fuel tax revenue also has declined due to changes in travel behavior and the growing adoption of zero-emissions vehicles, officials said.

Key priorities in the plan include:

• advancing the Surrey Langley SkyTrain project;

• opening public washrooms at six major transit hubs beginning in 2024;

• increasing TransLink's shared-ride service HandyDART by 3%;

• advancing planning transit service to Indigenous communities; and

• upgrading the Compass payment system.

TransLink has received CA$176 million from the federal and provincial governments in prior pandemic relief funding, along with Safe Restart funding of CA$675.8 million. The plan will further help stabilize transit operating funding, putting TransLink in a better position to expand and improve its services throughout the 10-year plan Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities.

Stabilization measures in the plan involve continued annual fare increases of 2.3% until 2024; additional 1.5% annual increases to standard property tax revenue; revenue derived from expanded commercial real estate development and advertising opportunities; and more carbon credit revenue from the Low Carbon Fleet Strategy.