For commuters, taking the increasingly overcrowded bus or SkyTrain has been 'unreliable and very frustrating'

With one full bus after another passing him by, AJ Khanna grows increasingly frustrated — he relies on TransLink to get to work, but lately the growing crowd is making it difficult to use the bus service, he says.

"It's unreliable and very frustrating. They need more transit. Before it used to be so pleasant and now it's like people pushing each other just to get in," he told CBC News.

Khanna is among transit users who say they're relying on buses and SkyTrains more often because of the high cost of living.

"The gas is high, the parking is high ... everything is so high," Khanna said. "Like, I am raising a family of two kids."

According to TransLink, overcrowding in the region's transit system is "rapidly worsening" and without more funding, four in 10 rush-hour bus trips will be "severely overcrowded" by 2025.

Khanna's sentiments are echoed by the Mayors Council on Regional Transportation, a group of Metro Vancouver mayors urging the provincial and federal governments to fund their $21-billion transit expansion plan, Access for Everyone. 

The 10-year plan would see double the bus services across Metro Vancouver, triple the rapid transit network, and add more separated bus lanes, as well as an extension of the SkyTrain to the University of British Columbia and Port Coquitlam.

"The province is committed to very ambitious climate goals ... and affordable housing," said Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, who chairs the TransLink Mayors' Council. 

"I think by investing in a plan like this the province and the federal government is taking action on everything people are concerned about."

'It's long lines like this at every stop, all the time'

Chantalle McFadden, who does not own a vehicle — making public transit one of her only options to get around — says more buses are needed to keep up with growing demand. 

"It's long lines like this at every stop, all the time. And you're waiting for half an hour, 45 minutes, sometimes an hour," McFadden said.

For Karen Hansson, she says on top of her disability, overcrowding makes commuting with her children very challenging.

"I'm visually impaired too so it's an added layer," she said. "It's difficult because I actually use a double stroller most of the time because I actually have a three-year-old as well, so it's the only way to get them around, and there's a lot of people who don't move out of the way when you're boarding or getting off the bus."

In a statement, the Mayors' Council said there were 14 million more boardings this summer across the system compared to 2022. 

The council said ridership in some of the fastest-growing areas like Surrey and Langley has more than doubled in the past four years, and is expected to increase with Canada's immigration targets bringing in more people to the Lower Mainland.

'We are at a critical point': TransLink CEO

At the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) conference Tuesday, TransLink's CEO spoke to media, highlighting what he says is insufficient transit funding to keep the region moving and growing.

"With ridership surging we are at a critical point where we must expand services or we will face systemic overcrowding," said Kevin Quinn, "we need support from all levels of government to have more transit." 

B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming, who was also at the UBCM conference Tuesday, did not make any commitments toward the mayors' goals but said they could count on his government to work with them.

In an statement to CBC News, the federal government said it will be establishing a country-wide public transit fund, slated for 2026.

The Mayors' Council says the transit expansion plan will need funding commitments by no later than June 2024 in order to support new affordable housing targets around transit hubs, and to keep up with B.C.'s population growth.

"Delaying transit expansion will be a disaster for our region," said West.