TransLink says fare enforcement blitz has led to millions in cost savings
Transit advocate asks for lower-income fare pass
Metro Vancouver's transit authority is hailing a recent increase in fare enforcement as a cost-saver, with TransLink saying it generated $3.2 million of additional revenue over six months.
Cash-strapped TransLink says the increase in fare enforcement came about as part of $90 million in cost-saving measures announced last year.
In the second half of 2024, the transit authority said it massively increased fare enforcement checks, and there was a bump in the number of people buying regular fares, as opposed to concession fares, like those offered to seniors and youth.
TransLink says the revenue bump amounted to around $500,000 per month, and they're on track to exceed the cost savings that they had accounted for with the fare enforcement blitz.
"We've seen the purchase of about 50,000 more adult fare passes each month and a decrease of 50,000 concession passes each month," said Anita Bathe, a TransLink spokesperson.
"And that change alone really puts us on track to exceed the revenue target that we had — $5 million annually. So if this continues, we could see it being about $6 million."
Bathe said that the authority was seeing most of its fare evasion on buses, particularly larger buses where commuters can enter through any door.
TransLink said in a statement that the fare enforcement increase is to educate customers on correct fare payments and reduce lost revenue from fare evasion.
The authority has been warning of cutting bus routes and service reductions amid funding challenges for years, with a recently-announced funding plan ensuring no service cuts until at least 2027.
Call for lower-income fare pass
A transit advocate, however, says the easiest way to reduce fare evasion would be to get a lower-income fare program in place.
"There are legitimately a lot of people who can't afford to get by in Metro Vancouver, [for whom] their only option is to pay a full fare or break the law," said Denis Agar, the executive director of transit advocacy organization Movement.
"In cities like Calgary, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, there is a discount for people who can't afford fares, and we don't have that here, so we need that part."
Agar also noted his concerns if police start enforcing fare evasion, saying having weapon-carrying officers on the transit system would send the wrong message.
Bathe said that TransLink was not looking to target people who couldn't pay, and that the fare evasion program was being enforced by transit security officers and not police.
She added that eight security officers had been hired in recent months by the authority as part of its fare enforcement program.
The spokesperson added that while TransLink doesn't have the operating funds to offer a low-income fare program of its own, it has been advocating for higher levels of government to step up and do so.
Currently, TransLink only offers discounted and free fares to seniors, youth between the ages of 13 and 18, people with disabilities, university students, and certain non-profits serving low-income people.
"We always want to see what we can do to make sure that those vulnerable people are able to still use our system, because oftentimes those people are some of the ones who need it the most," Bathe said.
"So we encourage people to get in touch with us if they are not finding a feasible option for themselves."
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With files from Liam Britten