TransLink's 3-year funding agreement reflects political compromise more than a new era for transit

Sometimes, when it comes to negotiations between different levels of government, the Rolling Stones come to mind.

Specifically, when they sang: "You can't always get what you want — but if you try, sometimes you'll find you get what you need."

And so it was on Thursday, when after two years of intermittent negotiations with the provincial government, TransLink announced a deal to fix its financial issues and avoid cutting routes until the end of 2027. 

"This is not the complete solution. I think you'll notice that everybody gave a little bit," said New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone, who sits on the Mayors' Council that approves the long-term vision and municipal funding that powers the region's transit authority. 

The tentative agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the Mayors' Council and TransLink board at the end of the month, is based on modest increases in transit fares and property taxes, in exchange for modest increases in transit service and three years of fiscal stability. 

In other words, it's a compromise. 

However, many people involved in the negotiations were hoping for more.

TransLink's financial struggles have been well documented: after years of increased ridership and expansion, the pandemic blew a massive hole in its business model, which had been filled by emergency one-time funding measures by higher levels of government. 

Metro Vancouver mayors didn't want to cut services, and didn't want to fully rely on current revenue tools given to them — the gas tax and a portion of municipal property taxes — to make up the difference.  

So a two-year campaign to convince governments of a new funding model ensued. With no guarantee of future stopgap funding, mayors threatened significant cuts if they didn't either get more provincial and federal funding, or were given a new way to raise money. 

"This is not a bluff. This is not a ploy. This is not a bunch of BS designed to force the province to do something. This is reality," said Mayors' Council chair Brad West at a news conference last year. 

But based on conversations with six members of the Mayors' Council, the province was not inclined to provide massive funding or reform measures. 

While more support eventually came through negotiations, including the $312 million over three years from the province announced Thursday, it wasn't enough to get TransLink off the hook. 

As a result, mayors had to create a plan that would give TransLink the funding it needed, without announcing tax increases that many mayors believed could be politically unpalatable in their home communities.