Starting Monday, commuters across Metro Vancouver will be spending a little more cash to ride a bus, the Westcoast Express or a SkyTrain.
As of July 1, TransLink fares have increased by five to 15 cents per trip, depending on how many zones passengers travel.
An adult one-zone pass now costs $3.20, a two-zone pass costs $4.65, and a three-zone pass costs $6.35 — up from $3.15, $4.55, and $6.20 respectively.
For Westcoast Express riders, a five-zone trip has increased by 30 cents for adults going one way, and three-zone passes are going up by 20 cents.
A three-zone monthly pass for an adult now costs $193.80.
Board members of TransLink officially voted on the change in March to try and improve service and alleviate “critical overcrowding.”
It’s all part of an effort to maintain service levels across the region, CEO Kevin Quinn stated.
“Including better bus frequencies on approximately 60 routes, increased Canada Line frequencies during peak hours, and earlier first-weekday SeaBus sailings, and enhanced late evening HandyDART service,” he explained.
This comes as TransLink posted a $472 million surplus this year, largely thanks to $478.9 million in funding from the province.
Along with fare increases, July 1 marks a day of schedule changes for TransLink, they include:
- The bus service will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule.
- The SeaBus will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule.
- There will be a 10-minute service frequency from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- There will be a 15-minute service extension from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- The SkyTrain will operate on an extended Sunday/holiday schedule.
- The last train from Waterfront Station to King George Station at 1:16 a.m.
- The last train from Waterfront Station to Lougheed/Production Way–University Station at 1:11 a.m.
- The West Coast Express will not operate.
For the holiday Monday, customers will only need a one-zone fare to travel across the entire transit network.