Fares on Metro Vancouver’s public transit system will be increasing slightly to help support the cost of improving and expanding transit infrastructure.
TransLink announced today that fares will go up on Saturday, July 1, marking the first time fares have increased in more than five years.
Single-use concession fares will increase by 5¢ and single-use adult fares will go up by 10¢.
Compass Card users who use stored value will continue to receive a discounted fare that is lower than customers who use cash.
Fares for all zones will increase by the same amount to reduce the impact on those who travel across multiple zones.
Those who use monthly passes will see their fares increase by between $1 and $2 per month, depending on the number of zones.
These fare increases were approved in an open board meeting by the Mayors’ Council on March 30.
Subject to further approval by the Mayors’ Council, there will be annual fare increases over the next three years.
Compared to 2016 rates, adult passengers could be paying 25¢ more for single-trip cash fares, 30¢ more for Compass Card stored value fares, and $7 more for monthly passes by 2019.
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.
Planned transit fare increases in Metro Vancouver from 2017 to 2019. (TransLink)
The fare increases are needed to support the $2-billion Phase One transit improvement plan, which consists of expanded bus service including five new B-Line routes, more frequent SeaBus service, frequency increases to SkyTrain service, the acquisition of new additional train cars for all three lines, and a third SeaBus.
By 2020, it is anticipated that TransLink will implement a new fare system that could potentially abolish the existing three-zone system in favour of a distance-travelled fare system made possible with Compass Card technology.
The public transit authority is currently in the process of conducting a review of its fare system, which is the first time it has conducted a review of its fare structure in more than three decades.
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