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In this area, Metro Vancouver is starting from a position of strength.

Transit ridership here has outpaced virtually every other public transit agency in Canada and the U.S., climbing about 17 per cent in the past three years. Last year alone, there was a seven-per-cent increase in system-wide boardings. Those gains have been attributed to transit service improvements, high gas prices and a relatively strong economy.

Customer satisfaction ratings have consistently been just below eight out of 10, and more transit investments are on the way.

Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG

Since his early days in Metro Vancouver, TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond has been of the view that ride-hailing offers opportunities.

“We at TransLink see ourselves as purveyors of mobility, and our mission here ought to be how we maximize the mobility options for people,” Desmond said. “As it relates to … ride-hailing, we don’t see them as something to be feared, we see them as something to both partner with and coexist with.”

However, he is not naive. Desmond does concede that ride-hailing could reduce demand for transit, depending on how it rolls out.

“It may have a slight negative impact on our ridership, probably more likely reducing the rate of growth in ridership, so we have to be wary of that,” he said.

Desmond came to Metro Vancouver from King County Metro Transit in Washington state, and he sees some similarities in the transit environments in the Seattle area and Metro Vancouver. There, Uber and Lyft use has grown, but public transit ridership continues to buck the downward trend experienced in other cities thanks to spending on buses and light rail.