TransLInk warns bus service could be cut by half due to budget shortfall

Metro Vancouver's regional transit authority is warning it will have to reduce bus service by half if a $600-million annual funding gap is not filled by next year.

A new troubling report from TransLink is highlighting the need for more funding.

The Metro Vancouver transit authority says hundreds of bus routes and thousands of SkyTrain trips are at risk of being cut at the end of 2025 without more money.

The agency is seeking approximately $600 million in annual reporting costs to avoid service cuts and is asking all levels of government to step in.

According to the report to the regional Mayors’ Council, bus services could be cut in half, SkyTrain and SeaBus trips reduced by one-third, and the West Coast Express commuter service could be eliminated entirely.

Various routes would also be impacted, particularly those with lower ridership. Langley, White Rock, South Delta, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and much of the North Shore would see almost no transit services operating.

"These cuts would be devastating to the region, and we’re doing everything we can to stop them from happening," TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this is a window into our reality if a solution to our outdated funding model is not implemented."

The agency says that once service is cut, it would take at least a decade to return transit services, as well as ridership, to current levels.