TransLink to increase fares across Metro Vancouver to combat 'overcrowding'

TransLink says it will increase fares by five to 10 cents starting in July as part of its 2024 investment plan.

The company says it needs to expand bus service due to overcrowding, especially in Vancouver, Surrey, and Langley.

According to TransLink, the fare increase is a short-term solution and does not begin to combat the deficit they are in.

“This 2024 investment plan doesn’t address our financial situation, it doesn’t even come close. It’s really a short-term plan to decrease overcrowding that we are seeing on our systems right now,” says Tina Lovgreen, TransLink spokesperson.

The planned hike is facing opposition from a Vancouver school board trustee who says it will be detrimental to already struggling families.

“I am very concerned about these fare increases and what they are going to do to families, particularly those who make minimum wage and are struggling to pay their rent. It all makes living in Vancouver more unaffordable,” says Suzie Mah.

Mah has been lobbying for free transit for youth aged 13 to 17 since last year and has seen little action.

“This is a really important issue for them. They want free or reduced transit to get to school on time, that they can hop on a bus and get there,” she says.

She says TransLink should look into their operating budget or seek funds from the provincial government, rather than taking it out of the pockets of riders.

“This is their problem. Their responsibility to the public and to the province is to ensure there is enough funds," Mah says. "If they can’t do that, they have to look at their own operating costs. My interest is in the students and in the education of students in Vancouver. There is an issue and we need to find the money so students and families are not having to pay for more.”

The fare changes will be formally approved in TransLink’s quarterly board meeting Wednesday morning.