CORY REDEKOP
LANGLEY – Transit is vital to the movement of people, goods, and services across our region. In Langley, where transit ridership has grown by 29% in recent years, reliable service is essential to support economic growth by getting people to jobs and opportunities, and helping keep more cars off the roads.
TransLink has recently released its 2025 Investment Plan, which aims to address its current funding shortfall and prevent imminent service reductions. Importantly, this plan avoids the potential near-elimination of bus service in Langley, and includes a new commitment to finally bring bus service to the Gloucester industrial area — a key advocacy goal of the Langley Chamber for years. Langley, the region’s fastest-growing community, is underserved by transit currently, and while this plan will not alleviate that entirely, it does make important improvements and expansions to service. The Langley Chamber will continue to advocate for Langley to receive wider and deeper service throughout our community going forward.
Gloucester is home to over 200 businesses and 15,000 jobs but currently has no public transit service. This has limited economic growth in the area and made recruitment more difficult for employers. The inclusion of new service to Gloucester is a major win for Langley and for the Chamber’s continued fight for transit that better connects to employment centres. Final details on the new route are to be confirmed, but it is expected to run peak-time, every 30-minutes, from Langley Centre along 56th avenue to Gloucester. Other increases in service include expanded hours on some Langley routes, including the 501 (200th street).
The proposed Investment Plan will be funded through:
- A 5% increase in transit fares
- An increase to TransLink’s portion of local property taxes
- A rise in the parking sales tax
- New operating funding from the provincial government
While the Chamber supports this plan’s focus on maintaining and expanding service in Langley, we are concerned about the significant property tax increase planned for 2027. Businesses already shoulder a disproportionate share of property tax, and the proposed 22% hike to TransLink’s portion in 2027 is untenable. We urge TransLink and senior governments to explore alternative revenue sources to ease this planned increase and the costs it will place on Langley businesses.
“TransLink’s plan rightly recognizes that transit service in Langley and across the region cannot be allowed to collapse, and we’re pleased to see our long-standing call for transit service to Gloucester and other industrial areas finally being addressed,” says Cory Redekop, CEO of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. “While we support the direction of this plan, the heavy reliance on property tax — especially the proposed hike in 2027 — must be reconsidered.”
Public input is now being accepted on the proposed plan until April 24 at translinklistens.ca/2025-investment-plan. The final vote will take place April 30 at the Mayors’ Council and TransLink Board meetings.
Cory Redekop is the CEO of the Langley Chamber
