TransLink unveils $90M cost-cutting plan ahead of funding gap

TransLink has unveiled its new annual $90-million cost-cutting plan in an effort to address its “growing funding gap.”

The plan has several efficiency measures, including reducing staff and corporate cost reductions.

TransLink said the plan does not include any cuts to transit services for now and vows to safeguard services for “as long as possible.”

The organization said the cuts are necessary as it is facing an annual funding gap of more than $600 million starting in 2026, when provincial relief funds are expected to run out.

“We have worked closely with the Mayors’ Council and TransLink’s Board to take decisive action to examine our costs amidst this financial challenge. We’ve made some tough, but necessary decisions,” TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said.

“Many of the corporate programs and strategic initiatives we are scaling back played an important role in bringing riders back to our system, but now we must do whatever we can to reduce our long-term funding gap.

“The urgency of solving this crisis cannot be understated as we will be forced to look at service reductions at the end of 2025, should a solution not be found for our broken funding model.”

An independent review, done by business management consultant company Ernst and Young, was also done to find where TransLink could cut costs without making reductions to transit services.

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The review found that TransLink has “limited opportunities” to cut costs without reducing transit services, which is roughly 85 per cent of the organization’s total costs.

The plan to reduce costs includes eliminating 35 jobs, reducing third-party contractors, research grants, training courses and initiatives and increasing fare evasion enforcement.

TransLink said it is making these changes “right away.”

“If there is one thing we can all agree on – it’s that no one wants to see less transit in Metro Vancouver,” TransLink Mayors’ Council chair Brad West said.

“This Mayors’ Council has been fighting for a solution that would allow for transit expansion, not reductions, for residents in our communities, but time is running out.”

TransLink is once again ringing the alarm regarding its current funding model and the challenges it is facing.

Those challenges include a decline in revenue from fuel taxes, fare increases below inflation, and increasing costs and expansion.

TransLink said it’s investigating what reductions to service could look like in the future if an alternative funding model is not found.

Despite the funding shortfall and new cost-cutting plan, TransLink is proposing to expand fare programs for low-income transit users.

That proposal is going before the Mayors’ Council on Thursday morning.

The cost of the expansion is estimated to be between $60 and 70 million and TransLink said that will need to be covered by the province.

It anticipates the discounts would help roughly 43,000 users. The actual discount amount was not released.