FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2026
Today, TransLink released a more detailed proposal for their Bus Rapid Transit plans in Surrey, Langley, and Maple Ridge. Movement wholeheartedly supports Bus Rapid Transit in the Lower Mainland and is encouraged to see these designs with very significant portions of centre-running bus lanes.
We will be reviewing the details of the plan to develop more detailed comments, and encouraging our supporters to attend TransLink’s Open Houses and share feedback. Expect a more detailed review of the proposal coming soon.
In the meantime, here are our preliminary reflections on the proposal:
- The busiest segments of these corridors will have median bus lanes. These median lanes are going to offer huge benefits to the residents and businesses of Surrey, Langley, and Maple Ridge, at a relatively low cost.
- It’s great to see the designs advancing, but the funding is not yet committed to building the project. After confusing changes to their transit funding programs, we ask the federal government to clarify whether funding is available to deliver Metro Vancouver’s major infrastructure projects: 3 BRT lines, SkyTrain to UBC, and Gondola to SFU.
- TransLink is claiming these BRT lines will run at a similar speed to the Canada Line, and we will be holding them to that.
- Notoriously, Toronto recently opened their Line 6 LRT at a cost of $3.5 billion, and it turned out to be slower than the bus it replaced. The key to a fast, reliable transit line is in the details, and we will be reviewing those carefully.
- There are two communities that have notably been left out of these BRT proposals: Guildford and the City of Langley.
- Guildford is one of the only affordable parts of Metro Vancouver left, and they deserve fast, frequent, reliable transit. Whether part of the BRT or not, there’s a lot the City of Surrey can do to speed up buses on 104 Ave.
- The BRT is bypassing the City of Langley and the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus there. We want TransLink to ensure that bus connections are strong between these destinations and the BRT.
- Some segments of the BRT are proposed to be in mixed traffic, where they will have no advantage over a regular bus. We will be engaging with TransLink to ensure that every opportunity is taken to ensure buses are fast and reliable on these segments.
TransLink is collecting survey responses for Phase 3 of their BRT engagement. Find their survey and details about the BRT plan here: https://translinklistens.ca/bus-rapid-transit-program
