Public transit funding is essential for affordability

July 25, 2024

TransLink bus at a bus stop in Coquitlam

The release of the Potential Transit Service Impacts report should be sounding alarm bells for governments at the BC municipal, provincial, and federal level because of its potential devastating effect on workers and their families.

MoveUP President Annette Toth has released the following statement:

Reliable public transit is the central component of addressing affordability. There is no piece more critical when it comes to making life more affordable for people than access to dependable public transit at all times of day. Even the suggestion that services may need to be cut in half, or routes may need to be eliminated, is absolutely devastating and needs to be addressed urgently.

There is no priority greater for any of our governments than ensuring reliable public transit is available and affordable for all. Public transit connects communities across BC. It brings workers to their jobs, children to their schools, seniors to their appointments, tourists to their destinations, and so much more. Public transit is fundamental to our economy, connecting people to restaurants, attractions, sporting events, and everything in between. It is also an essential component of combatting the climate crisis which, as we have seen so far this summer with wildfires throughout the province, requires critical attention.

There is no reason for any government, regardless of political stripe, not to invest in our public transit system. We should not be talking about the potential for cuts. We should be talking about not only maintaining our services but expanding them. We should be connecting more communities across BC. We need more buses and routes. We need better connections to rail and ferry services. We need to expand fare-free transit to as many groups as possible.

Our union’s membership of over 13,000 workers strongly calls on governments at all levels to immediately address the potential shortfalls in funding affecting Coast Mountain Bus Company and TransLink and investigate all avenues possible to ensure our public transit system can continue to deliver world-class service in Metro Vancouver and connect even more communities moving forward.

MoveUP represents administrative and skilled workers at Coast Mountain Bus Company and TransLink, as well as at BC Transit in Victoria. Our union is also proud to support the BC Federation of Labour’s Workers Deserve Better campaign calling for a public transit plan that can fill the gaps left by years of neglect and privatization under past BC Liberal governments, and build on the important transit investments the current provincial government has made.