As you’ve probably heard countless times by now, there are two elections happening this October: a municipal election in every city, and a provincial election later in the month. In Surrey, this means voting for a mayor and councillors on October 17th to form city council.
We’ve asked candidates across Metro Vancouver to sign our Transit Hero Pledge (follow the link to see who has signed on) and held a town hall in Surrey (recording available here) to get candidates talking about transit! But we also wanted to summarize how this council has voted on transit-related matters.
(P.S. If you’re still a bit confused about the municipal and provincial elections, our friends at Women Transforming Cities made a great resource explaining the differences!)
City Council Voting Record
So how did the previous Surrey council vote on transit-related motions? We used a different methodology than our Vancouver Council Transit Report Card because Surrey had far fewer transit-related motions. We’d certainly like councillors to bring forward transit motions more often in Surrey, like New Westminster council advocating for a low-income transit pass or Vancouver council reaffirming its support for a SkyTrain to UBC!
There were three big transit items that came to council’s attention during the past term. Here’s how they voted, plus a detailed explanation below:
| Safe Surrey Coalition | Surrey Connect | Surrey First | |
| Increasing Bus Shelters | Voted in support | Moved motion, voted in support | Voted in support |
| Sidewalk Action Plan | Voted in support | Moved motion, voted in support | Voted in support |
| King George Blvd Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) | Voted against | Moved motion, voted in support | Voted against |
Increasing Bus Shelters (2025) – Passed
Only 25% of Surrey’s 1,425 bus stops have a covered shelter, leaving over a thousand bus stops having no weather protection in a region that has a famously wet climate. Surrey Connect councillor Gordon Hepner brought forward a staff recommendation to install 60 more bus shelters in a two-phased program. 30 bus shelters were paid for by Pattison Outdoor Advertising for bus stops with high ridership, particularly 128 Street in Newton and 108 Avenue in Surrey Central. An additional 30 were paid for by the Community Works Fund Agreement from the federal government, with staff recommending bus stops chosen from public feedback in underserved areas.
This motion passed unanimously, with councillors from Safe Surrey Coalition, Surrey Connect, and Surrey First all voting in support. It’s a good step forward, though many more bus shelters are needed for all of Surrey’s bus stops to have weather protection.
The 60 bus stops that were chosen to receive bus shelters. Source: City of Surrey
Sidewalk Action Plan (2025) – Passed
An important part of a transit rider’s experience happens way before they board a train or bus; sidewalks are necessary for people to safely get to a bus stop or SkyTrain station. Road safety is also public safety: 36 pedestrians died on Surrey streets between 2020 and 2024. Surrey has a structural deficit of 558 km of sidewalks, particularly on local roads. Surrey Connect councillor Pardeep Kooner moved a staff recommendation to create a method to decide where the city should prioritize sidewalk construction, based on factors such as safety for vulnerable road users (i.e., pedestrians) in places with higher pedestrian activity, proximity to schools, transit, grocery stores, and parks.
This motion also passed unanimously, with all parties voting in favour. Similar to bus shelters, substantially more sidewalks are needed in Surrey in the near future to achieve the goals of the Sidewalk Action Plan.
Sidewalk summary in Surrey, excluding roads in the ALR and floodplains. Source: City of Surrey
King George Blvd Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) (2026) – Passed
The major transit motion of 2026 was a staff report brought forward by Councillor Kooner to seek council’s approval for the King George BRT to proceed to the full design stage, as well as the construction of a pilot BRT station at King George SkyTrain station. If you’re confused about what a Bus Rapid Transit route looks like, we wrote a blog post explaining it! The Surrey BRT motion included specific details about what proportion of the route would have dedicated bus lanes, ensuring that buses are able to skip traffic between South Surrey, Newton, and Surrey Central.
This motion passed with Surrey Connect councillors voting in favour, and with votes against from Safe Surrey Coalition and Surrey First councillors. The King George BRT remains unfunded, as that responsibility lies with the provincial government, but with the city’s approval, the project is one step closer to construction when funding becomes available.
The proposed route and stops of the King George BRT. Source: City of Surrey
Proposed cross-section of the King George BRT in Newton. Source: City of Surrey
What About the Other Parties?
One of the challenges with talking about transit in the Surrey municipal election is that there are substantially more parties running than those who held a seat on council during the past term. We encourage voters to review our Transit Hero Pledge to see which parties signed on to our asks for better transit in Surrey!