FAQ

Developed by the Mayors' Council in 2014, the 10-Year Vision for Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation (the 10-Year Vision) is a strategy designed to keep the region moving. The Vision is a transit and transportation plan that reflects agreement by 23 local governments across Metro Vancouver, and is supported by the largest coalition of community, environmental and business stakeholders in B.C.'s history.

The 10-Year Vision is unique in Canada. It’s a region-wide, integrated plan – from transportation to light rail to bus to roads and bridges – that supports our 30-year Regional Transportation Strategy and Regional Growth Strategy.

The 10-Year Vision will be rolled out in three phases, each timed to the delivery of new projects and services. Phase One, which includes a wide range of transit service improvements, and launched in January, 2017, is the critical first step in moving the Vision forward and creating the transportation system the region needs.

In each phase, investments from the federal government and provincial government will be matched with regional revenues to ensure the 10-Year Vision is funded in a fair and balanced way.

For a snapshot of the investments included in each phase of the 10-Year Vision, view the 10-Year Vision Dashboard.

On November 23, 2016, the Mayors’ Council and TransLink’s Board of Directors reviewed and approved Phase One of the 10-Year Vision. The Phase One Plan reflects feedback received from the public consultation process and represents a major step forward – the first significant new investment in transit and roads in Metro Vancouver since 2009. The Plan is the first in a series of investment plans, each designed to advance the significant transit and transportation improvements outlined in the 10-Year Vision.

Phase One of the 10-Year Vision will see an investment of approximately $2 billion in expanded transit services, transit infrastructure, and improvements for roads, cycling and walking – Metro Vancouver's biggest transit service expansion since 2009.

Over the course of the Phase One Plan, a broad range of enhancements will be implemented, including those listed below.

Phase One Transit Service Improvements

• 10% increase in bus service
• 15% increase in HandyDART service
• 20% increase in rail service (Expo Line, Millennium Line, Canada Line, West Coast Express)
• Pre-construction and consultation on the Millennium Line Broadway Extension and the Surrey-Newton-Guildford Line of the Surrey LRT project
• New funding for improvements to the Major Road Network
• Expansion and improvements to the cycling and walking networks

If approved, the Phase Two Plan would fund the next phase of the 10-Year Vision, starting in 2018. The Phase Two Plan would be an historic investment in the region’s transit and transportation system – one of the largest in Metro Vancouver’s history.

The Phase Two Plan is built on continued delivery of the transportation improvements in the Phase One Plan, as well as a proposed funding model to implement the second phase of transportation improvements in the 10-Year Vision. This includes:

• Surrey-Newton-Guildford Light Rail to provide a new rapid transit option for the fastest growing city in British Columbia
• Millennium Line Broadway Extension to extend SkyTrain on the busiest transit corridor in our region
• a massive upgrade of existing Expo and Millennium Line SkyTrain to expand its capacity to meet double-digit ridership growth and improve the customer experience
• a further increase in bus service throughout the Metro Vancouver region to address overcrowding, reduce wait times and bring bus services to many neighbourhoods that currently have limited bus options
• more HandyDART trips
• improvements to sidewalks, bikeways and multi-use pathways
• early work on the Surrey-Langley LRT
• addressing bottlenecks and funding other upgrades to major roads

The Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia have made unprecedented funding commitments to Phase Two projects. To fully leverage these new federal and provincial contributions, the region must also provide its share of funding for the Phase Two Plan. To complete the regional share, the Mayors’ Council proposes the following funding changes:

• Transit fare increase: an increase to transit fares in 2020 and 2021, in addition to increases already approved in the Phase One Plan.
• Parking sales tax increase: a 3% increase to the parking sales tax beginning in 2019.
• Property tax increase: an increase to property taxes beginning in 2019, estimated at $5.50 per average household.
• Development cost charge (DCC): an increase in annual revenues generated by the Development Cost Charge (DCC) for transit.
• Commercial revenues: collection of new commercial revenues (retail, filming, fibre optics) around SkyTrain infrastructure.

The revenue from the proposed changes would fund about 5% of the Phase Two Plan, or an average of $43 million annually beginning in 2019.

Learn more about funding

The proposed funding changes are intended to be modest and balanced across Metro Vancouver residents. The changes would affect transit users, drivers, property owners, and real estate developers:

• Transit fare increases: A 10 to 15 cent increase to single fares, and a 50 cent to 1 dollar increase to monthly passes, over the increases approved in the Phase One Plan. Forecast indicate that as a result of these fare increases, transit users would pay an average of 2% more per transit journey over the next 10 years than they would otherwise have paid.
• Parking sales tax: An increase to the parking sales tax rate by 3 percentage points, from 21% to 24%. For a parkade that charges $5 per hour, this would increase the cost of parking by 12 cents per hour.
• Property tax: An increase in property taxes estimated at $5.50 increase per average household each year, or about 46 cents per month.
• Development cost charge (DCC): An increase of about $300 to $800 in the Development Cost Charge on new residential units, depending on type of dwelling. Non-residential DCC rates may change as well. This is subject to consultation with stakeholders.

Learn more about funding

Learn more about Phase Two improvements for your community in the Discussion Guide, which includes maps of proposed bus service improvements for every part of the region.

TransLink asked for input from the public on the Phase Two Plan from April 30 to May 11, 2018. The feedback shared during this engagement period is very important and will help TransLink finalize the Phase Two Plan before submitting it to the TransLink Board of Directors and the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation for consideration in June 2018. If the Phase Two Plan is approved, the new projects in the Phase Two Plan will begin to advance in 2018, and Metro Vancouver residents will start to see new Phase Two Plan transit services as early as 2019.

The total cost of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford Line is estimated at $1.65 billion; $43 million of project costs have already been funded in the Phase One Plan and are in progress.

The total cost of the Millennium Line Broadway Extension is estimated at $2.83 billion; $47 million of project costs have already been funded in the Phase One Plan and are in progress.

The business cases for the rapid transit projects have been submitted to the provincial and federal governments. The project costs will be finalized after final funding approvals from both senior governments. Cost estimates may be refined through additional technical analysis, public input and design modifications. The estimate will be finalized at the end of the procurement process. Learn more about the rapid transit projects in the Discussion Guide.