TransLink board approves 2025 budget with $72M shortfall

The authority that manages Metro Vancouver's public transportation system says it's found efficiencies and increased revenue for its upcoming budget, but still faces a shortfall due to lower levels of funding from governments and inflation pressure.

TransLink's 2025 budget, which was approved by its 11-person board on Wednesday, has a $72 million deficit compared to a surplus of $50.5 million in 2024.

Contributions from the provincial and federal governments are down 22.1 per cent, equating to $93 million, compared to the 2024 budget, according to budget documents.

The new financial plan comes after CEO Kevin Quinn warned regional mayors in the summer that the authority could have a serious financial gap by the end of next year because of the end of provincial relief funding tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quinn said the transit authority may have to cut 50 per cent of its services at the end of 2025 if additional stable funding is not secured.

The 2025 budget will spend $2.5 billion, an increase of 0.6 per cent over 2024's budget.

It aims to address overcrowding and increase access to under-served neighbourhoods, but will also pay for labour rate increases and replacing aging buses and trains.

The budget says 49 per cent of TransLink's bus fleet has less than three years of useful life remaining.

In addressing the new budget, Quinn said the authority was looking forward to working with new B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth to secure a long-term sustainable funding model for transit in the region.

"We know that that's critical," he said. "While this work continues, though, we're going to be doing everything in our power to tighten our belts and really put every dollar possible toward delivering service."

TransLink says the effects of the high inflation in recent years has driven up the cost of labour, materials and services. 

That has resulted in around $102 million in increases in the 2025 budget, according to the authority's report to board members.

Ridership growth is expected to raise revenues by 12 per cent over 2024, while the authority was able to cut $49 million in spending and deferred $19 million on costs to future years — "something I'm very proud of," said Quinn.

Funding future

A group of regional mayors has spent months pumping other levels of government to fully commit to funding public transportation and help establish what they call a sustainable funding model for it.

The B.C. NDP's platform from this fall's election promised to expand and strengthen transit service in the province and seemed supportive of priority projects identified in TransLink's so-called Access for Everyone plan.

It would more than double bus service levels in the region over 2022 levels and calls for $3.4 billion per year in funding.

"It is time to turn these commitments into reality," said Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, who is chair of the Mayors' Council, in a release at the time.

In October, members of the Metro Vancouver group went to Ottawa to ask federal officials, alongside other Canadian municipalities, to address funding for the country's largest transit agencies.

In particular they asked for Ottawa to accelerate the Canada Public Transit Fund, which will provide $3 billion per year for public transit and active transportation infrastructure beginning in 2026/2027.

Another fund with billions of dollars available for transit authorities is the Canada Infrastructure Bank, but federal Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to abolish the fund if elected prime minister in the next federal election, which is expected sometime in 2025.

His party has said the fund, which municipalities have accessed to fund zero-emission buses, lacks transparency and is underperforming.

In September, Poilievre also said he would withhold transit and infrastructure funding from cities that do not mandate the construction of high-density housing around transit stations.