We are writing to bring to your attention the serious financial difficulty of TransLink funding for public transit due to Covid 19. Since the novel coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, TransLink ridership in Metro Vancouver has gone down 80%, resulting in a $2.5 million revenue shortfall per day or a staggering $75 million revenue shortfall per month. Not only that, special measures have been in place in order to implement physical distancing rules as directed by public health officers: rear-door boarding, limited seating capacity and increases in cleaning and sanitizing requirements. The scheduled fare increase on July 1 has been suspended, due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
TransLink plays a vital role in ensuring the 75,000 essential workers in our region, such as nurses, hospital workers, and grocery workers, get to work by public transit every day during Covid19. Without an immediate injection of funding from the federal government, TransLink may face insolvency as early as June. The revenue shortfall will also impact the HandyDART accessible transportation service.
