VANCOUVER—Students and faculty at Simon Fraser University are one step closer to commuting via gondola, as TransLink has committed to studying the project’s feasibility in replacing buses.

TransLink earmarked $36 million in Phase 2 of its transit plan to study three potential projects: the Surrey-Langley Line, rapid transit to UBC and the Burnaby Mountain gondola.

About 25,000 people use public transit to reach SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus every day, which often means transferring onto buses at Production Way SkyTrain station to complete the trip. By 2030, that number is expected to jump to 40,000, according to the university.

It is not uncommon for people to wait more than 20 minutes to hop on a bus to SFU during peak hours and the situation worsens in the winter months.

University staff are, in fact, forced to close the Burnaby campus several times a year because buses struggle to gain traction up the mountain in snowy conditions, said Gordon Price, a transportation planner who works at SFU.

“Using those buses when it snows — it’s not a fun experience I can tell you that.”

TransLink invested in tire socks last year in an attempt to help bus drivers navigate slushy roads but moving so many people up a mountain via buses in less than ideal conditions probably wears out “a lot of hardware,” Price said.

Installing a gondola would be a practical, but also fun solution to an ongoing problem, he said. “I wouldn’t shy away from it. This is fun. This is iconic.”

SFU said in an emailed statement that the proposed urban gondola would be the first of its kind in Canada and called it a “forward-looking solution.”

The university would not say whether it is willing to contribute funds to the proposed project — UBC has offered funds for a Broadway-line extension to its Point Grey campus — but said it is looking forward to working with TransLink and other regional partners.

The transit authority commissioned an April 2018 report that found a gondola service would cost $197 million to build, and up to $4.2 million to operate. The gondola, would also save TransLink $34.5 million in bus-replacement expenses, according to the study.

Translink launched a two-week public consultation for Phase 2 on Monday. People can find out more about the transit plan at tenyearvision.translink.ca.

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Wanyee Li is a Vancouver-based reporter covering urban affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @wanyeelii

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