TransLink to increase all transit fares again beginning July 1

Mark your calendars, as it is almost that time of year when TransLink is slated to increase its fares for Metro Vancouver’s public transit system.

See also

• TransLink proposes switch to distance-travelled fares for SkyTrain and SeaBus
• Paper transfer tickets returning to some TransLink buses permanently
• BC Transit planning to launch new smartphone fare payment system
• Fare gates reduce fare evasion, increase TransLink revenue by $29 million
• TransLink by the numbers: Fare gates at each SkyTrain station

As determined by the annual fare increase schedule created earlier in the decade, fares will go up again on July 1, 2019 to help fund TransLink’s $2-billion Phase One expansion and improvement plan, including:

• 500 new buses, including 147 new additional articulated buses for three new B-Line routes on 41st Avenue, Lougheed Highway, and the North Shore. B-Line service starts fall 2019.
• A new additional SeaBus for increased ferry service frequency. Service starts summer 2019.
• 56 new train cars for the Expo Line and Millennium Line and 24 new train cars for the Canada Line for increased train frequency and capacity. Service improvements will be fully rolled out by 2020.

This summer, single-trip adult and concession fares using the Compass Card’s stored value will both go up 10 cents for any number of zones travelled, amounting to a 30 cent and 20 cent increase, respectively, since fares started going up annually in 2017.

All adult monthly passes will also be going up by $2.00 to $3.00, which completes the $7.00 increase in fares over three years.

Here is the full schedule of fare increases between 2017 and 2019:

Scheduled transit fare increases in Metro Vancouver from 2017 to 2019. (TransLink)

Separate fares for the West Coast Express will be seeing increases on Canada Day as well.

Transit riders can expect a new schedule of fare increases in 2020 and 2021 of 10 cents to 15 cents on a single-trip fare and 50 cents to $1.00 on a monthly pass to support the $7.3-billion Phase Two transit expansion plan, which includes:

• the Millennium Line extension to Arbutus Street
• a portion of the Expo Line extension to Langley Centre
• significant capacity and infrastructure upgrades to the existing Expo Line and Millennium Line
• additional SkyTrain cars for the Expo Line and Millennium Line
• at least two new B-Line routes.

Other revenue sources covering these expansion plans include federal and provincial government funding, regional parking sales tax increases, regional property tax increases, and development cost charges on all new developments in the region.

These smaller, annual fare increases are designed to limit the effect on passengers as previous major increases at the start of the decade discouraged some people from using transit and reduced fare revenues.

Later this year or in 2020, TransLink plans to implement a new fare system that abolishes SeaBus and SkyTrain’s existing zone system in favour of a distance-travelled fare system, which is commonly used on other major subway systems and now made possible in Metro Vancouver with the Compass Card.

See also

• TransLink proposes switch to distance-travelled fares for SkyTrain and SeaBus
• Paper transfer tickets returning to some TransLink buses permanently
• BC Transit planning to launch new smartphone fare payment system
• Fare gates reduce fare evasion, increase TransLink revenue by $29 million
• TransLink by the numbers: Fare gates at each SkyTrain station