Taxi passengers leaving YVR paying up to $9 more under new zone fares

Updated and previous flat-rate taxi zone fares for passengers leaving YVR airport are seen in images from the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Catching a taxi from the Vancouver International Airport costs up to $9 more under new flat-rate zone fares that were quietly implemented earlier this month.

The changes came into effect Oct. 11, taking some arriving travellers by surprise.

“Cab driver told me my ride now costs $46 when it was $37 a week ago,” wrote one frustrated Reddit user.

Flat-rate fares for every zone across Vancouver and Richmond have increased by at least $3, and some of the existing zone boundaries have been changed – including in Vancouver’s downtown core, where three previous zones have been combined into one.

The most expensive zone remains “North East Vancouver,” where a taxi ride from YVR now costs $51, up from $47 under the previous fares.

The least expensive fare – for the “Sea Island” zone, where the airport is located – now costs $24, up from $20 previously.

The new YVR taxi zone fares, which came into effect Oct. 11, 2024. (Vancouver Airport Authority)

The updated fares and zone boundaries were approved by B.C.’s Passenger Transportation Board in August, at the request of the 20 cab companies licensed to pick up fares from YVR airport.

The new fares are based on updated trip estimates, with an added “Premium Location Charge” of $4, which will apply to both flat-rate trips within Vancouver and Richmond, and to metred trips to other jurisdictions.

The previous YVR taxi zone fares, which came into effect Oct. 1, 2023. (Vancouver Airport Authority) The companies determined the new estimates by taking 10 metred trips – with empty cabs – to the midpoint of each zone, at different points in the day, then averaged out the costs.

The board found “the methodology for redefining zones in Vancouver and Richmond reasonable,” according the decision. 

Flat-rate fares for passengers leaving YVR airport were implemented 10 years ago, promising “certainty and confidence” for travellers to know how much they can expect to pay, according to a news release from the Vancouver Airport Authority when the system was announced.

At the time of the initial implementation, the flat-rate fares ranged from $20 to $41. They have been updated gradually in the years since.

Similar systems are in place at other airports around the world, including Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.