TransLink announces 4% fare increase for 2025
The TransLink board of directors has approved an average fare increase of four per cent, which will take effect on July 1, 2025.
It's the highest increase since the start of the pandemic, with single-zone fares increasing 15 cents from $3.20 to $3.35. Two-zone fares will increase by 20 cents to $4.85, and three-zone fares will rise by 25 cents to $6.60.
Fare increases were cancelled in 2020 as the pandemic hit and held at an average increase of 2.3 per cent per year from 2021 to 2024. The increases were kept below inflation and managed through the federal Safe Restart Agreement, designed to help provinces and territories recover from the effects of the pandemic.
According to the TransLink board, the agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2024.
Looming shortfall
Last summer, TransLink said in a statement that current relief funding from the government would be coming to an end in 2025 and that without a new solution to address the funding gap, potential cuts would need to be made.
The statement talked about cutting bus service in half, cancelling all NightBus and West Coast Express services, and significantly reducing HandyDART, SkyTrain and SeaBus services.
WATCH | TransLink CEO explains funding challenges:
Even with a recent crackdown on fares — TransLink reports that 2.2 million riders were checked last year — 2024 revenues of $63 million were down by approximately $2 million from 2023.
TransLink says it expects to be short by about $72 million this year, and starting next year, it is predicting an annual operational shortfall of $600 million.
Late last week, the federal government announced more than $1.5 billion over 10 years for transit in Metro Vancouver under the new Canada Public Transit Fund. Quinn said in a statement that he was looking forward to continuing TransLink's partnership with Ottawa to expand transit and meet the region's needs.
Difficult for low-income riders, advocates say
"Paying more and getting less is honestly, I think, why some people are protesting. "It's absolutely crazy in the Lower Mainland," said transit rider Faith Brown. "Why aren't our taxes paying for this?"
Brown also expressed concern for people on fixed incomes and pensions and said she found it really frustrating that there weren't other options to help cover the costs falling on transit riders.
Denis Agar agrees that it will be difficult for low-income riders.
"There's no question that it's going to be a hardship, especially for people that have to do the three-zone fare," said Agar, who is the executive director of Movement, a non-profit that fights for better public transit in Metro Vancouver. "That means over $200 a month now for someone commuting from Surrey to Vancouver."
He says that it's below what fares used to be in 2020 when inflation is factored in, but added that it's not much solace for people.
Agar also said that the fare increase will only provide TransLink with about $20 million in revenue when it needs $600 million. He says he is pushing for low-income fare passes — which, he says, have worked in other cities, including Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton and Regina.
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