RELEASE: Movement Plans Dragons’ Den-style event to find most popular transit funding model

Transit funding is surprisingly popular. On Nov 14, we’ll find out which funding model is on top.

Transit systems across the world use many different tools to fund their operations, and the province has promised to launch a new one by 2027. Movement will host a “Dragons’ Den”-style event where participating teams will argue for their chosen funding tool to finally end the funding crisis at TransLink.

For Immediate Release

October 21, 2025

VANCOUVER – On November 14, Movement will host “Transit’s Next Top Funding Model” in a beautiful new 400-seat theatre at SFU Surrey, across the street from Surrey Central, the home of the top six most overcrowded routes in the region. Cash prizes will be offered to the contestants, and the judges will represent prominent sectors in Metro Vancouver Society.

This past spring, TransLink faced a fiscal cliff that could have resulted in a 50% cut in bus service that would have plunged the region into gridlock and isolated hundreds of thousands of Metro Vancouverites. At the last minute, it was solved by a combination of property tax increases, deficit spending, and a one-time contribution from the provincial government. 

Transit cuts would have been devastating, but the status quo isn’t exactly peachy either. Metro Vancouver has grown quickly in the last five years, but transit service hasn’t been keeping up. The result is overcrowding and passups in Surrey, significant cuts in Vancouver, and poor frequency in Langley. In all three situations, people are forced to rely on rides from family, or cars they simply can’t afford. This contributes to rising congestion and pollution.

We know that transit has a huge impact on the cost of living. Not only does it reduce the need for a car, but when transit improves, people can access more affordable housing that used to be out of reach. A surprising study showed that the most affordable neighbourhoods in our region are along rapid transit in places like Surrey Central and the West End. They found this by adding up the total cost of transportation and housing. In Maple Ridge and Langley, the average resident actually spends more on their car than they do on their home.

Overwhelming support for transit funding across the continent

So improved transit will reduce the cost of living for the people that really need it. But that improved transit has to be paid for somehow. The good news is that transit funding is overwhelmingly popular among voters, even in conservative places. Equiterre’s survey of Canadians showed 81% support for investment in better transit (by contrast only 51% supported investment in EVs). 

In the United States’ 2024 election, the vast majority of transit funding referendums passed, even as Donald Trump was elected. Taxes to fund transit were passed in Tennessee, Arizona, and South Carolina. Columbus, Ohio passed a 0.5% sales tax increase that would generate US$6.2 billion to expand transit, and also invest in sidewalks and bikeways.

Others are embarking on massive transit-building projects that will transform their regions. Los Angeles has voted to raise income taxes multiple times to invest US$160 billion in transit. In Seattle, they fund transit expansion through a combination of property tax, sales tax, rental car tax, and a vehicle levy that is proportional to the value of each car. The result is a wide-ranging expansion plan that is rolling out new transit lines for decades to come.

While our competitors rapidly advance, Vancouver is standing still. Our most recent rapid transit line was funded seven years ago. 

Metro Vancouver can do better. We can draw inspiration from our peer cities and consider new ways of funding transit. To that end, our event on November 14th will consist of three parts:

  1. Competition – teams will pitch new potential funding tools. The audience and the judges will share their feedback in real time, and a few will be crowned winners. 
  2. Keynote – we’re pleased to welcome Anna Zivarts to provide the keynote lecture. She is the author of When Driving is Not an Option, and a founder of the Nondrivers Alliance in Washington State.
  3. Reception – Following the keynote, we will host a reception to celebrate our wins this year and socialize in the elegant atrium of SFU Surrey’s new Engineering Building. 

For more information about the event, please visit http://topfundingmodel.ca

We’d like to thank the following sponsors for helping to make this event possible:

(PS Sponsorships are still available! Please contact for details.)

Award Sponsor

Event Sponsor

Community Sponsor

What could we afford with better transit funding?

TransLink’s 2022 Access for Everyone plan proposes a doubling in transit service over ten years. This plan remains largely unfunded and undelivered. This doubling of transit service would have huge repercussions for regular riders. It would: 

  • Tackle overcrowding and passups
  • Provide 24-hour bus service on more corridors
  • Add transit in currently un-served neighbourhoods
  • Increase frequency to reduce wait times
  • Fund 9 new Bus Rapid Transit lines
  • Boost HandyDART service by 60%
  • Build SkyTrain to UBC and the gondola to SFU

In addition to Access for Everyone, Movement is calling for funding to finally launch a Low Income Fare Pass. Metro Vancouver is one of the only major regions in North America that does not offer discounted transit fares for adults with low incomes. While a transit pass costs up to $200 per month here, a qualifying Calgary resident pays as little as $6/month. We know that transit plays an essential role in accessing healthcare, employment, and family. It should be accessible to all, regardless of their income. TransLink estimates such a program could cost $60-70 million, and significantly reduce fare evasion. 

Which potential funding tools will be considered?

We aren’t certain which ideas will be submitted, but here are a few examples that might be considered:

  • Decongestion Charge – Earlier this year, New York City introduced a US$9 charge to drive into the part of the city that is best served by public transit. 
  • Land Value Capture – Transit investments can boost property values, and in cities like Portland, the expected increase in property tax revenue was used to fund the initial investment.
  • Sales Tax – Many American cities charge between 0.5% and 1% sales tax to fund transit
  • Vehicle Levy – Seattle charges a vehicle levy based on the estimated value of the vehicle.
  • Income Tax – BC currently has the lowest income tax rate of any province for those earning $150,000 or less.
  • Eliminating the Homeowner Grant – In Canada, homeowners have roughly double the income of renters, yet BC offers a $1 billion/year grant that only homeowners can access (as long as their home value is under $2.1m). No other province offers this.
  • Wealth Tax – In Spain, for example, any individuals’ assets over about €1m are taxed.
  • Land Value Tax – While property taxes apply to the value of the building and the land, a LVT applies only to the value of the land. Supporters (including those who created the game Monopoly) believe that this is a way to encourage more walkable and transit-friendly communities and encourage development on vacant lots.

Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders is a non-profit that represents our region’s one million transit riders. We’ve often been left out of the conversation, and we’re here to speak up for faster, more reliable, more abundant transit. We’re focused on the growing number of bus routes where riders are left behind by full buses, day after day, primarily in Surrey and South Vancouver, as well as the urgent need for bus lanes that cost almost nothing but massively improve commutes for hundreds of thousands of people.

Media Contacts:


Denis Agar
Executive Director
778-775-8806
denis@movementyvr.ca

http://movementyvr.ca
Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders
200-475 W Georgia St.
Vancouver BC
V6B 4M9