Metro Vancouver’s transit network is hugely popular – one third of the population uses it weekly. Riders are a huge part of the voter base, but politicians rarely hear from us. Good public transit is not only the greenest and safest way to get around, but also essential for people to access employment opportunities, medical appointments and classes. When transit is well funded, it can be more comfortable than driving  – reducing traffic congestion, saving users the headache of driving and maintaining a car, and benefiting everyone. We’re working to make well-funded transit a reality.

“I would like the 49 to be more frequent because it is often overcrowded in the mornings. There are some days where I am skipped by 4 buses in a row, and it is the only way I can get to school.”

-Rider of route 49

Seattle. Boston. Indianapolis. The stories keep coming from cities across North America of major improvements in transit service. Meanwhile, the only stories coming from Vancouver are major increases in overcrowding and buses moving slower than ever. But our capacity to accommodate these riders has been systemically frozen for years. Metro Vancouver has seen significant population growth in the last decade. With minimal increases to transit capacity, this has led to overcrowding on transit and more people choosing to drive, resulting in more congestion and  leading to transit delays, less reliable service, and higher operating costs. 

Despite this, Metro Vancouver reports a 3% increase in ridership year-over-year, outpacing the 1% increase in driving across the region, according to TransLink’s 2024 Transit Service Performance Review (TSPR). Metro Vancouver ranks 3rd highest for bus ridership across the US and Canada, surpassing many cities of similar population size. Metro Vancouver even beats Canada’s largest metropolitan area, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, with a higher transit ridership per capita. 

In other cities, riders have demonstrated that when they organize and work together, they can win enormous improvements in the network. For example, when Toronto planned to close a rail line in Scarborough for years, TTCRiders fought for a temporary busway that would keep that neighbourhood moving quickly on transit. The City opposed it, but at the last minute the mayor bowed to the riders and made it happen.

When riders work together, they win. Movement founder, Denis Agar, is a transit rider and a TransLink employee of 10 years. He is inspired by success stories across North America. “I kept seeing these successes in other cities,” says Denis.  “Seattle has a bus lane on almost every downtown street. These cities had rider groups that had been established for decades. Vancouver is long overdue for a transit riders’ movement.”

We Saved The Bus! – For Now…

Last year, Translink warned of a fiscal cliff in 2025 – doomsday. Massive service cuts were proposed, including 50% of bus services. We took action, organizing a massive campaign and rally, bringing out speakers like Mayor Patrick Johnstone from the City of New Westminster and a massive crowd at Metrotown Station. Finally, the Mayor’s Council coughed up some funds to keep Translink operating until 2027. While the fight isn’t over until a new sustainable funding model is implemented, we are so amazed at the turnout and the pressure we were able to gather.

Why support better transit in Metro Vancouver?

• Access to Opportunity

• • • Academic research shows that transportation is one of the most important ways of enabling people to escape poverty. When transit gets better, workers can get to more potential employers, giving workers more bargaining power and more flexibility.

• Growing the Economy

• • • Some cities, like Houston and Los Angeles, have tried to accommodate growth with massive freeways. We know that in our region this would cost enormous sums of money, and result in the destruction of billions of dollars worth of homes and businesses. Transit, on the other hand, is much more space efficient, allowing us to grow without destroying major pieces of our economic engine.

• Social Justice

• • • The neighbourhoods with the highest levels of residents from traditionally excluded groups also have the highest levels of transit usage. As housing costs get more prohibitive, and so does the cost of owning a car, we find that some of the most expensive housing is in places with the best transit access. With simple measures like transit priority and increased service, transit access can rapidly be improved to more affordable neighbourhoods.

• Climate Change

• • • Aside from the fossil fuel industry, personal vehicles are the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia. In other sectors, climate measures can be a struggle to get support for. By contrast, with transit, so many people are trying to ride that we have overcrowding. When we make transit faster, more frequent, and more reliable, we acknowledge those that are trying to ride and attract even more riders to the system.

• Safety

• • Transit is the safest way to get around – safer even than walking. Bus lanes and SkyTrain make the safest mode of transport even safer.

What we’re fighting for:

• Faster, more reliable buses

• • • There are so many ways we can redesign our streets to make buses faster and more reliable. TransLink says that traffic congestion costs them an extra $80 million worth of bus service each year, and that cost is growing.

• More buses

• • • TransLink has identified that Metro Vancouver needs at least double the amount of bus service it has today. We say that’s just the beginning! In the next 25 years, our region is projected to grow by one million people, and we need almost all those new residents to have a good alternative to driving if we’re ever going to meet our climate goals and stave off gridlock.

• More rail

• • SkyTrain has really been the secret to Metro Vancouver’s transit success. Expanding the network is a huge investment, and it’s also totally worth it. We want to ensure the region invests in better buses urgently, so that we have enough riders to justify more SkyTrain in the future.

Help us empower riders to fight for better transit in Metro Vancouver – donate today!

In partnership with Movement.