A guide for hopeful municipal mayors and councillors
Municipal leaders have a huge impact on transit. Here’s what we’re asking Metro Vancouver council hopefuls to do on our Transit Hero Pledge. There are a few municipality-specific asks in pledges for Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Richmond in addition to what’s on this page.
If you’re a politician running for council and you’d like to sign on to be a transit hero, fill out this form.
If you’re a voter who wants to support candidates who promise to improve transit, take our voter pledge.
Within the City’s jurisdiction
Bus priority: I will make buses faster and more reliable by installing transit priority measures on streets where riders experience significant delay
Buses are slow and unreliable. Each year, it gets worse. City council has the power to fix this, which will get people out of cars and reduce congestion. Bus priority measures are things like signal priority, bus lanes, and bus bulbs. This will also save TransLink millions of dollars, which can be re-invested into the city.
Getting to and waiting for transit: I will increase investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, and street lighting and I will install many new bus shelters and benches, with the goal that almost all of my city’s stops have them
So that people of all ages and abilities can get to their bus stop, and feel safe along the way. This also has benefits for non-transit users, like kids walking to school. Surveys show benches and shelters make a dramatic difference in the lives of transit riders, at a very low cost.
Housing: I will approve ample new housing near the frequent transit lines in my community, and take special care not to displace those in rental buildings
Adding housing near rapid transit has the same benefit as a transit expansion: more people have access to transit. This is a crucial step councils can take to expand transit access, and it actually generates revenue for the city. It also tackles the desperate housing shortage we have. Although the cost of housing is dropping, it’s still at 80% of median income, which means we still have a housing crisis.
Building dense housing near transit is also an environmental imperative. Each home built near frequent transit will have less car use, and will prevent a home from being built on farmland or forest.
To avoid displacing people, tearing down existing affordable apartment buildings should be avoided. This can be accomplished by strengthening protections for renters and upzoning low-density, primarily owner-occupied areas near transit.
Voice at the City: I support the creation of a non-drivers advisory committee that meets regularly, and provides feedback before major transit changes are made
People who rely on transit are the most impacted by changes to the transit network, and our voices and perspectives should be valued and taken into consideration.
Belonging: I affirm that transit needs to be safe, inclusive, and free of violence and harassment for people of all different backgrounds, sexual orientations, and genders, including trans and gender-diverse people
Trans people are a fundamental part of the transit riding community, and they have never been under greater threat. As an elected official, you can improve lighting, frequency of transit, expand public access to gender-inclusive washrooms city-wide, and your words can shift the culture.
Mayors’ Council and other levels of government
Region-wide: Myself or one of my fellow council members will be assigned to the TransLink Mayor’s Council, a position of power and responsibility in shaping the region’s transit network. If chosen, I will:
– Use TransLink’s revenue tools to expand our region’s transit network to make it truly world-class, without relying on punitive fare increases
– Prioritize the transit projects that benefit the most riders, even the ones that aren’t in our city
– Advocate for major projects including Bus Rapid Transit, SkyTrain to UBC, and Burnaby Mountain Gondola
– Improve accessibility by prioritizing functional elevators at SkyTrain stations and adequately investing into HandyDart
– Commit to accessible, gender-inclusive public washrooms at every major transit hub
– Create a low-income transit pass
– Introduce measures to reduce bus delay like: automated bus lane enforcement, transit signal priority, and all-door boarding
If I am not chosen, I will do what I can to support these objectives.
- There is a drastic shortage of transit investment in Canadian cities. This results in a forced reliance on cars, adding $15,000/year to the cost of living for many families. Cities like Singapore and Stockholm show us it doesn’t have to be this way. Vancouver’s transit is not bad by North American standards, but we need to compare ourselves to worldwide standards, where we fall short. Expansion of transit includes making frequency better to reduce wait times, adding more NightBus service, and creating more express bus routes
- Mayors’ Council members have a responsibility to make transit the best it can be for the entire region
- Major projects would be transformative for the region, but they still don’t have funding
- Elevators are crucial, and HandyDart is an essential door-to-door service that cannot be replaced by curb-to-curb service
- People need to pee! Washroom access makes our transit system better for everyone, especially for people with disabilities and pregnant people
- Metro Vancouver is one of the only cities in Canada without a low-income transit pass, and it’s embarrassing that we don’t have this essential program
- Bus delay can and should be reduced. Automated bus lane enforcement would generate revenue and improve bus speed and reliability. Some cities have transit signal priority across their entire network, whereas Metro Vancouver only has it in a handful of spots. All-door boarding would speed up bus trips and save TransLink $15 million per year.