TransLink approves highest fare hike since 2020
Posted March 27, 2025 6:40 pm.
Last Updated March 28, 2025 11:16 am.
If you are a transit rider in Metro Vancouver, be prepared to pay a little more for your daily commute.
Starting July 1, fares will be four per cent higher. This means that those using a Compass card will see an increase of 10 to 20 cents per ride. For those paying with cash, the fares will jump between 15 and 25 cents, and the cost of monthly passes will increase by up to $7.75.
Between 2021 and 2024, the annual fare increase was 2.3 per cent. TransLink says this year’s increase is still under the average rate of inflation and will help it catch up in the face of lagging revenues.
“There’s no question that TransLink needs more funding, and it’s going to have to be a mix of fares and tax revenue,” said Denis Agar, the executive director of public transit advocacy group Movement.
“What we would really like to see is a low-income fare pass. Almost every other [transit system] has a pass that means that if you can’t afford a fare, then you get a discount.”
Some riders say they are willing to pay more if it means more support for the transit system.
“I think we need a lot more investment in TransLink,” one transit user told CityNews.
“We need to think big in terms of pushing lines out. If that’s going to cost more money, I’m fine with that.”
According to TransLink, the fare hike will generate an additional $18.6 million over the next year — far from addressing the $600 million funding gap it says it is facing.
