RC118 MayJune 2025 - Magazine - Page 13
END OF THE LINE
The challenges of getting Canadians on board
with public transit by Mark Douglas Wessel
RIDDLE WRAPPED in a mystery inside an enigma” is the analogy Winston Churchill once
used when describing a situation di昀케cult to
comprehend.
And were he still alive today, and
asked what needs to be done to improve
public transit in Canada, one can imagine him asking
aloud “Whether to invest 昀椀rst in expansion funding,
maintenance of existing infrastructure or in improved
service?”
Which is precisely the enigma cities across the country
currently face as they grapple with the overlapping
challenges of keeping transit running, let alone on time.
Challenges that include: reducing tra昀케c congestion,
increasing ridership, making transit more a昀昀ordable,
making transit more accessible in densely populated
areas, reducing air pollution and improving access to the
workplace and essential services.
Many of these proverbial bumps in the road were
addressed last year in a report produced Environmental
Defense in partnership with Quebec-based Équiterre
entitled Putting Wheels on the Bus. The half empty, half
full perspective of the report shares that while Canada is
nearly 40 per cent below the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) average for public
transit utilization in urban areas, with proper funding
public ridership could be doubled by 2035.
In the wake of that report, in July of 2024, the federal
government launched the Canadian Public Transit Fund
(CPTF), a $30-billion program designed to create more
transit-oriented communities in this country.
And early this year, a series of CPTF announcements
were been made in support of public transit across the
country, from a $180 million commitment to the City of
Ottawa to $1.5 billion to bolster Metro Vancouver’s public
transit infrastructure—funding that will be delivered in
equal installments over a 10-year period from 2026 to 2036.
“A
The funding for Metro Vancouver will come through the
creation of a Metro-Region Agreement, starting in 2026.
“We welcome this federal investment in Metro
Vancouver transit. Maintaining and growing a reliable,
e昀昀ective transit network requires cooperation from all
levels of government, and so it is important our federal
partners are at the table,” said Mike Farnworth, British
Columbia’s Minister of Transportation and Transit.
Under the Metro-Region Agreement, the federal
government is providing long-term, predictable funding
for the growth and maintenance of public transit in the
Metro Vancouver region. Metro Vancouver’s public transit
network is one of the busiest in Canada, connecting the
municipalities within the region with bus, SkyTrain, West
Coast Express and SeaBus services.
“The Government of Canada has been an important
and valued partner in expanding our transit system and
we look forward to continuing that partnership through
the Metro-Region Agreement. Investing in public transit
is crucial to economic prosperity, and TransLink continues
to work with all levels of government to secure funding
for the Access for Everyone Plan to expand transit and
support the growing needs of Metro Vancouver residents,”
said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn.
TransLink will receive $1.529 billion, conditional on the
signing of a funding agreement.
This funding commitment complements the recently
announced $663 million investment for TransLink under
the Baseline stream of the CPTF and builds on investments
in the region, including almost $1.5 billion in support of
the Surrey-Langley Skytrain and the Millennium Line
Broadway Extension projects.
Investing in a state of good repair
Excited is the same adjective John McMull, director
of communications for the Canadian Urban Transit
Association (CUTA) uses to describe the positive impact
Mark Douglas Wessel is an urban
journalist and communications
consultant. He writes a regular column
called Green Living for Postmedia.
ANA IAMMATTEO/FLICKR
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MAY/JUNE 2025 – RENEW CANADA 13
