Whereas transit is an essential service critical for providing mobility to support the social and economic recovery of transit communities and the Province, as part of the BC Restart Plan; And whereas transit communities have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant financial losses due to the costs of responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic costs which should not be downloaded onto regressive revenue sources like property taxes or transit fares which will hinder economic recovery: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of BC work with TransLink, BC Transit, UBCM and BC local governments to: a. Deliver a Provincial Transit Recovery Strategy to address the 2020 and 2021 financial impacts that TransLink and BC Transit have already incurred and will continue to incur due to the COVID-19 crisis so that both can continue delivering the services and mobility the province needs to rebuild and prosper in the coming months and years. b. Develop a Provincial Rebuilding Strategy for BCs Transit and Transportation Sector in 2021 that will strengthen BC Transits and TransLinks funding models by expanding transit revenue tools to reduce reliance on transit fares so that both agencies can: - Sustain, improve and grow transit as the economy and population grows; and - Rebuild transit ridership and provide mobility alternatives to support economically competitive, sustainable and livable communities.
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure In August 2020, the Province entered into a Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government to cost-share funding support for public transportation which includes BC Ferries, TransLink and BC Transit. That agreement resulted in 675.8 million for TransLink and 88.3 million for BC Transit services. The BC Transit funding will assist local governments, which lost fare revenue for a number of weeks and are experiencing low ridership, to maintain an essential level of transit service and to keep fares affordable. This funding will also assist with incremental safety costs associated with responding to COVID-19 such as the additional cleaning, personal protective equipment and bus driver plexi-glass panels. For TransLink, this funding helps close TransLinks projected COVID-19-related operating funding gap in 2020 and 2021, keep annual fare raises capped at 2.3 annually through 2024, offset lower than forecast motor fuel tax revenue, and implement the free transit for youth program. This one-time funding is a recognition of the importance of public transportation to the social and economic well-being of British Columbians. In addition, theProvincehas announced as part of Budget 2021 that all childrenage12 and under will be able to ride transit for free across BC. Free transit for youth 12 and under will help create lifelong transit riders, building better, moreinclusiveand sustainable communities.The Province is committed to making it easier and more affordable for families to move within their communities as we move forward through the pandemic recovery period.