Calgary transit shuttle bus chaos shows LRT has no place in Surrey
Commuter chaos: A video clip posted to X (formerly Twitter) shows massive crowds swarming and chasing a Calgary Transit bus, which was deployed to assist after a surface light rail line was shut down due to a train hitting a person on the tracks.
Scenes like this remind us that surface LRT has no place in Surrey and Metro Vancouver’s backbone rapid transit network. On what is now one of North America’s busiest transit systems, running at-grade could mean frequent chaotic disruptions to service just like in Calgary and Edmonton.
A fatal pedestrian collision involving a C-train in Northeast Calgary led to chaos, as a crowd chased down a shuttle bus in an attempt to board it.
— Riley Donovan (@valdombre) October 17, 2024
A young man told a reporter the scene reminded him of his homeland in Punjab. pic.twitter.com/wGSTqd314h
The 2024 BC provincial election is tomorrow (October 19) and a lot is at stake for Surrey’s rapid transit future. The BC Conservatives have committed to building SkyTrain on King George Boulevard to Newton, in addition to also completing the Surrey Langley SkyTrain.
The BC NDP have committed to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on King George Boulevard from Surrey City Centre to White Rock, as proposed by TransLink. We are longtime supporters of BRT and pleased that the BC NDP support this, as it can build ridership for future SkyTrain.
However, in the future, the wrong leadership could try to convert that BRT into a surface LRT instead of SkyTrain.
Our updated BC provincial election 2024 voters’ guide lays out what’s at stake for Surrey rapid transit. We would be satisfied with either an NDP or Conservative government outcome. However, only the Conservatives are committed to SkyTrain to Newton.
As the BC NDP have not also committed to future SkyTrain to Newton, there is a risk that the BRT that they build could be turned into a surface LRT in the future instead of SkyTrain, and that is not a risk we can afford.
View the full Voters’ guide: SkyTrain for Surrey — Our Provincial Election 2024 Voters’ Guide
On mobile, scroll right to view the entire table →
 |  |  | |
| Complete the full 16km Surrey Langley Skytrain (SLS) | YES Will continue building the SLS as planned. (BC NDP platform) | YES Will “expedite the Surrey Langley SkyTrain, ensuring timely delivery.” (July 25, 2024) | YES Pledged support for Mayors’ Council’s Access for Everyone plan which includes SLS. (October 11, 2024) |
| Build new SkyTrain on King George Boulevard to Newton Town Centre | NO Committed to bus rapid transit (BRT) on King George Boulevard as planned by TransLink. However, BRT could still be upgraded to SkyTrain eventually. | YES Transportation platform includes commitment to extending SkyTrain to Newton. (BC Conservative platform) | NO Pledged support for Access for Everyone plan, which specifies BRT on King George Boulevard. However, BRT could be upgraded to SkyTrain eventually. |
About SkyTrain for Surrey
SkyTrain for Surrey is the community organization that advocated for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension (SLS). From our beginnings as a petition calling for the scrapping of a street-level LRT proposal, we grew into a community of like-minded folk, taking on various projects such as making SkyTrain an election issue in 2018 as a registered advocacy group. Today we are pushing for the construction of the SLS as well as the King George SkyTrain extension (KGS).
Media Contact:
Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey
Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]