TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn has made it clear that extending the SkyTrain all the way to the University of British Columbia is not a priority.During an address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Friday, he said other projects — namely Bus Rapid Transit lines — were higher up on the list..Quinn began by acknowledging the importance of the Commercial St. to UBC corridor, noting that the 99 B-Line bus is consistently among the busiest lines in all of North America."When that SkyTrain extension to Arbutus opens, that'll be a really fantastic addition," he said. We are supportive of UBCX ... but at the same we've gotta have some really honest conversations about projects in the region and the capital priorities that we have set, that the Mayors Council have set around making Bus Rapid Transit happen."Quinn added that while SkyTrain was "a piece of" the network, it would continue to be a "bus-first system.""We've also gotta have an honest conversation about our funding," he noted. "We can't continue on a path of focusing on these big capital projects without thinking through how we're going to fund the operations afterwards."Quinn stressed the importance of having both capital and operating conversations "in parallel," so that everyone is on the same page."I want to see a SkyTrain to UBC — we're very supportive of that — but we also have to have a conversation about how we're gonna run the trains," he said. "This isn't crazy thinking here; this is a rational thought.".As of now, there are three major Bus Rapid Transit routes in the works, Metrotown to Park Royal, White Rock to Guildford, and Langley to Maple Ridge. The former is scheduled to be ready to go by the end of next year.Bus Rapid Transit routes differ from regular bus routes in that the vehicles are given preferential signalling and dedicated lanes in the middle of the road, à la a tram or train..Quinn also provided an update on the highly-anticipated gondola to Simon Fraser University, explaining that the designs are around 50% completed.He noted, however, that the project "needs capital funding" to move forward, and said TransLink was looking forward to seeing what's included in the federal budget, which is set to drop on November 4.
