In May and June of 2016, we asked riders and others across the region to tell us what they would like to see in a new transit fare system.

Nearly 30,000 people participated!

After going through all of the online surveys, feedback from open houses and workshops, here’s what you had to say:

• Nearly two of every three people disagreed the current fare system works well.
• More than seven in ten people who responded to the survey said there should be more fare product options for different periods of time ie. weekly or multi-day pass.
• Almost half of survey respondents said the 90-minute transfer window is not long enough.

Here are the top six priorities survey respondents want to see in a fare system:

1.   Make fares lower for people who use transit frequently

2.   Make fares lower for shorter distance trips

3.   Provide more fare product options for different periods of time

4.   More fare product options to make transit more affordable for families

5.   Make it easier to understand and predict how much you’ll pay

6.   Make fares lower for people with less ability to pay

Next Steps

In early 2017, TransLink will launch Phase 2 of the Transit Fare Review.

We will use the feedback from Phase 1 to help define and evaluate the options for varying fares by distance travelled, time of travel and service type.

We will also begin to map out the options for different types of fare products and passes, user discounts and rules around transfers between services.

You can read the full report here.

Author: Emma Keeler-Dugas