Why can't Translink make the two zones north of Fraser all one zone at $3.75 & south of Fraser (Surrey, Delta & Langley) $2.25? Crossing the new two-zone boundary would be $1.50. After all, the majority of riders use the system north of the Fraser River & they should pay more because they get all the perks like Canada Line, bus stops with Next Bus times, and the Millennium Line. Eventually (in 5 years) the fares can go up to $4 North of Fraser and down to $2 south of Fraser with a $2 boundary fee, due to the fact that the population growth north of the Fraser River will eventually rise faster than all the municipalities South of Fraser River (Delta, Surrey, Langley). This is more reasonable a fare raise than what was currently proposed because, as I've said before, more people north of the Fraser River use the system than Delta, Surrey & Langley! Now that I've given you my proposed fare schedule, let your beancounters crunch the numbers & I bet it will help afford putting in faregates at Main Street Station and Metrotown Station as well as support the corporate welfare of $60K per transit council director!!
For people who don't live in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) or even Delta, Surrey & Langley, I suggest you Google "Translink" and do some research. The way Translink raises fares unjustly imposes a greater fare increase ridership in Delta, Surrey & Langley, who actually subsidize ridership north of the Fraser River. There are actually more riders in the GVRD who never cross a zone but only pay $2.50, but every time someone buses in from south of the Fraser River, they pay double before 6.30 PM weekdays. As well, for the 90 minutes that their ticket is good for, most people within the GVRD north of Fraser actually get to more places they want to than the few people who bus all the way out of Langley. It takes about a half hour to get to the Skytrain in Surrey from Langley, and about 45 minutes to downtown Vancouver. For most places in Vancouver proper, you're no more than a half hour from shopping and other amenities. This leaves the average person riding the bus with about 20 minutes of shopping & time to return home on that ticket!! Compare this to the 15 minutes & the fare home ($2.50) for the poor people travelling from Langley. This suggests that in about 10 years time, it'd serve the ridership south of Fraser to raise the time limit to 2 hours.
Results of email: the usual thanks, we're sticking to the fare prices. thanks for contributing.
I'm astounded because the current fares do not increase ridership. My rider ship went up because my disability allows me a yearly bus pass for $45. The planned fare hike is not going to make riding a bus as attractive as lowering it. Translink will need to do something to change our minds that their fare hike in the coming months actually to raise ridership.
