UBC ams

UBC Students “Celebrate” 18 Years of Skytrain Delays

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UBC Students “Celebrate” the 18th Birthday of the Long-Promised UBC Skytrain 

January 14, 2026. Vancouver, BC – On January 14, 2008, then-BC Premier Gordon Campbell announced the Provincial Transit Plan, committing to build a SkyTrain extension to connect UBC with the rest of Metro Vancouver. Eighteen years later – after five provincial elections and four premiers – there has been no visible progress. To commemorate this non-event, UBC’s student union – the Alma Mater Society (AMS) – will hold a birthday party as a way to continue its pressure on the government.  

“If the UBC SkyTrain were a person, it would be old enough to start university, sign its own construction contract, and even vote,” said AMS VP External Affairs Solomon Yi-Kieran. “Yet, the project remains stalled.” 

A Skytrain to UBC would help address a number of issues facing Vancouver currently: 

  • Housing: The SkyTrain would enable 50,000 units of affordable, transit-oriented housing along the route.  
  • Transit Demand: UBC’s community of 80,000 generates 145,000 daily trips. By 2050, that population will grow to 100,000. Bus service is already inadequate and will only get worse. 
  • Environmental & Financial Impact: A completed SkyTrain would shorten commutes by 30 minutes, save students $170 or more a month in fuel costs, lower carbon emissions, and reduce traffic congestion across the region. 

Despite 15,000 signatures on a student-led petition, unanimous support from Vancouver City Council, and 92% support across Metro Vancouver (TransLink 2021 survey) the government plans to stop the Skytrain extension at Arbutus Street. Students will be stranded almost 8km from UBC, forcing them back onto the bus for another 30 minutes, creating a bottleneck and worsening overcrowding. 

After 18 years of waiting, the AMS is calling on the BC Government to: 

  1. Release a timeline for planning, construction, and completion. 
  1. Fund the business case in the 2026 provincial budget. 
  1. Publish the business case by January 14, 2027—the SkyTrain’s 19th birthday. 

“Eighteen years of delay is unacceptable,” adds Yi-Kieran. “If I handed in an assignment 18 years late, I’d fail. Why should government get a pass?” 

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