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Site last updated:
January 10, 2012

TransLink Commission

info@translinkcommission.org

January 10, 2012
Commission Seeks Public Input on TransLink’s Proposal to Raise Transit Fares in 2013

TransLink has applied to the Commission for approval to raise transit fares on January 1, 2013. TransLink proposes to raise all fares. For example, for cash fares:

• a 1-zone ticket would rise by 25 cents, from $2.50 to $2.75

• a 2-zone ticket would rise by 50 cents, from $3.75 to $4.25 and

• a 3-zone ticket would also rise by 50 cents, from $5.00 to $5.50.

If the increases are approved for 2013, five years will have passed since the last increase in cash fares, which was in January 2008.

Other types of transit tickets have seen more recent increases. For example, books of 10 FareSaver tickets saw their last increase in April 2010, so that two years and eight months will have passed, if the increases are approved for 2013:-

• 1-zone FareSaver books would increase from $21.00 to $23.50

• 2-zone FareSaver books would increase from $31.50 to $35.50 and

• 3-zone FareSaver books would increase from $42.00 to $47.00.

It is because some of these increases exceed an average of 2% per year that TransLink must by law obtain the Commission’s approval. By law, in deciding whether to approve the fare increases, the Commission must weigh four considerations:

• maintain financial stability of TransLink;

• allow TransLink to provide planned services;

• encourage TransLink to minimize expenses; and

• keep fares as low as possible.

A decision is due March 27, 2012. As input to its decision, the Commission is undertaking an intensive review of the cost-efficiency of TransLink. This will help determine whether TransLink can reasonably be expected to deliver all the services and projects to which it has committed in its approved plans, while managing with less-than-proposed fare revenue in 2013 onwards.

For more information, here are:

• a 1-page information bulletin issued by the Commission on January 10, 2012

• 11 pages of Frequently Asked Questions with answers. Included are the reasons given by TransLink for the proposed increase, and a list of the proposed increases for all types of fares such as concession fares, monthly FareCard passes, West Coast Express fares, employee passes, and others.

• TransLink’s Letter of Application for Fare Increase to the Commission, dated December 28, 2011.

The commission is inviting comments from the public on the proposed fare increase, and particularly on TransLink’s efficiency. The deadline for sending them is February 15, 2012.

Please send comments via:
Email to: comments@translinkcommission.org or
the Commission’s Facebook page or
Canada Post: TransLink Commission, Box 1497, Comox BC, V9M 8A2.

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