The Surrey Board of Trade is calling on the provincial government to use the revenue raised from the carbon tax to fund public transit.
“We are advocating for a revolutionary shift in using B.C.’s carbon tax revenues to fund transit initiatives,” said Anita Huberman, CEO of the board.
“In light of the pressing need to foster sustainable transportation solutions, we’re asking that the B.C. government allocate these funds based on population, prioritizing regions with the most pressing transit needs.”
During the Lower Mainland’s Mayors’ Council meeting on Oct. 26 TransLink disclosed its “daunting” $4.7 billion deficit, which Huberman said is bad news for Surrey’s economy and workforce particularly considering the area is already “severely under-served” by public transit.
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Huberman noted that transportation represents a “foremost” challenge for cities and businesses today, especially in Surrey.
Meantime, on Nov. 23 TransLink issued a press release indicating the mayors’ council has gone cap in hand to the Trudeau government, prior to the 2024-25 federal budget, for support in building three new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in this region to be completed by 2027, with one of them in Surrey, at an estimated cost of up to $300 million each.
Surrey’s BRT aims to connect the city centre with White Rock, via what TransLink identifies as the King George Boulevard corridor.