Consultation on track for transit fare structure review
Another round of public consultation will begin next month as TransLink moves into the third phase of reviewing its fare structure.
Fares are determined by zones. SkyTrain and SeaBus have a threezone structure, West Coast Express has five zones, while buses and HandyDart have one zone. The fare system — with the exception of buses and HandyDart — has not changed since 1984.
During the first two phases of the fare review, TransLink learned nearly two-thirds of people who responded to surveys said the zone-based fare system doesn’t work and they’d like to see a fare system that charges by distance, provides for time-of-day discounts and is fair and affordable no matter which service they use.
In this phase, TransLink will gauge the level of support for a number of pricing-by-distance options and fare product concepts, and receive input on ways to expand customer discounts. Consultation will be held in November and December.
Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay expressed some disbelief with the survey result that 70 per cent of people would like to see distance-based fares.
“One hundred per cent of the people I’ve talked to would prefer the system was one zone across,” he said.
Geoff Cross, TransLink vice-president of policy and planning, said it’s true people would generally like to pay less for transit, but the goal with the review is to retain the same level of fare revenue. He said if they were to look at flattening the fare system and make it one price across the board, the base rate would have to go up by 16 to 17 per cent.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said some people from Maillardville will walk over the highway overpass to New Westminster to catch the SkyTrain so they can avoid crossing a fare zone on transit.
“Distance-based would solve all kinds of challenges in the suburbs,” he said.
Michael Smith, the mayor of West Vancouver, wondered why the fare review process is taking so long. A final recommendation is due in mid-2018.
“We’ve concluded that two-thirds of our customers are not happy and we’re going from late 2017 to mid2018 before we can make recommendations for change?” he asked, saying that delay wouldn’t fly in the private sector.
Cross responded they need to take their time and do it right, otherwise the bottom line could take a big hit.
“We’re pushing as quickly as we can,” he said.