All modern rapid transit systems have distance based fares and like most things in BC we are slow to adapt just like ride sharing services like Uber.
Melissa Zack - 6 years ago
I don't have a problem with distance based fare, but why will the new base rate, which will be the current price of 1 zone travel or $2.20, only extend for the first 4 or 5 stops? To go from Waterfront Station to the edge of the 1 zone boundary is 9 stops along Expo Line, 9 stops along Canada Line and 8 stops if you transfer at Commerical to Millenium Line. The edge of the boundary is approx 10km from Waterfront Station. And now we will be charged $2.20 to go 4 or 5 stops and 5 km, instead of 8 or 9 stops and 10km? How is this not just Translink charging us more money? I would hazard a guess that the majority of transit users travel more than 4 stops in one go; if you got on at Waterfront, 4 stops wouldn't even get you off the downtown peninsula. If Translink's actual intention was to make the system more fair and not just make additional revenue, the base rate of $2.20 would cover ~10km and 9 stops.
Brian Kong - 6 years ago
The proposed distance-based system may look and sound fairer on paper, but after you look at the numbers a little closer and consider the practical realities of its implementation, you find out that there is a specific, but sizable, group of people who have been targeted for much higher fares by this new system: anybody who works downtown but doesn't live downtown (i.e. people who live more than 3 or 4 SkyTrain stations away from where they work). These commuting downtown workers tend to buy 1 zone or 2 zone monthly passes (depending on whether they live in Vancouver or Burnaby) to get to work everyday. If the new system gets put in place, this specific group could pay as high as an additional $30 a month, just to get to work each day. Now really think about the effect of that additional cost on your downtown commuting barista/server at your favourite downtown coffee shop or restaurant, trying to make a living in Vancouver.
All modern rapid transit systems have distance based fares and like most things in BC we are slow to adapt just like ride sharing services like Uber.
I don't have a problem with distance based fare, but why will the new base rate, which will be the current price of 1 zone travel or $2.20, only extend for the first 4 or 5 stops? To go from Waterfront Station to the edge of the 1 zone boundary is 9 stops along Expo Line, 9 stops along Canada Line and 8 stops if you transfer at Commerical to Millenium Line. The edge of the boundary is approx 10km from Waterfront Station. And now we will be charged $2.20 to go 4 or 5 stops and 5 km, instead of 8 or 9 stops and 10km? How is this not just Translink charging us more money? I would hazard a guess that the majority of transit users travel more than 4 stops in one go; if you got on at Waterfront, 4 stops wouldn't even get you off the downtown peninsula. If Translink's actual intention was to make the system more fair and not just make additional revenue, the base rate of $2.20 would cover ~10km and 9 stops.
The proposed distance-based system may look and sound fairer on paper, but after you look at the numbers a little closer and consider the practical realities of its implementation, you find out that there is a specific, but sizable, group of people who have been targeted for much higher fares by this new system: anybody who works downtown but doesn't live downtown (i.e. people who live more than 3 or 4 SkyTrain stations away from where they work). These commuting downtown workers tend to buy 1 zone or 2 zone monthly passes (depending on whether they live in Vancouver or Burnaby) to get to work everyday. If the new system gets put in place, this specific group could pay as high as an additional $30 a month, just to get to work each day. Now really think about the effect of that additional cost on your downtown commuting barista/server at your favourite downtown coffee shop or restaurant, trying to make a living in Vancouver.