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Canada Line YVR AddFare coming Mon Jan 18: here’s how it works

Canada Line YVR AddFare coming Mon Jan 18: here’s how it works

The Canada Line at YVR.
The Canada Line at YVR.

Whoosh — the Regional Transportation Commissioner has just approved the YVR AddFare for the Canada Line, which will come into effect on Monday, January 18.

The AddFare will actually be implemented in a different way than we earlier proposed. Here’s the details:

A diagram of how the YVR AddFare will work. Image from the <a href=http://www.translinkcommission.org/html/yvr_add_fare_decision.html>Regional Transportation Commissioner</a>.
A diagram of how the YVR AddFare will work. Image from the Regional Transportation Commissioner.
  • The new YVR AddFare will cost $5, on top of the regular fare.
  • The AddFare will only apply to anyone buying cash fare tickets at any Canada Line station on Sea Island, for travel from the airport to Richmond or Vancouver. (Said another way: the AddFare only applies to those buying cash fares for travel off of Sea Island.) Ticket machines at these stations will automatically charge the correct amount.
  • Anyone using pre-paid fares will be exempt and will not be charged an additional fare for any trip on the Canada Line to or from the airport. Pre-paid fares include DayPasses, FareCards, FareSaver Tickets, U-Passes, Employer Passes and the BC Government Bus Pass Program.
  • Also, travel on the Canada Line is free between stations on Sea Island.
  • By the way, this new fare was approved in principle in 2004 as one of the ways to pay for the construction of the Canada Line. Clarification: The funds from the AddFare will go directly to TransLink to cover the construction costs.
  • And just to refresh your memory, the stations on Sea Island are YVR-Airport, Sea Island Centre and Templeton.

Please check out the very full explanation of the AddFare and its history over at the Regional Transportation Commissioner’s website.

Also, since someone will surely ask, here is the answer to one of the scenarios you might encounter (a colleague was bending his brain thinking of these).

Q. Let’s say I’m leaving the airport and have a one-zone FareSaver ticket, but I am travelling during the peak time so must upgrade with a $1.25 AddFare. I put my FareSaver into the machine and upgrade to a two-zone ticket, which looks just like a cash fare ticket. Is that considered a cash fare that forces me to buy the Canada Line AddFare? Or is this still considered an exemption?

A. The ticket will be considered exempt, but the machine will indicate “airport” on the ticket to alleviate any enforcement issues.

Feel free to leave your comments, as always :)

Edit! Make sure to check out the Q&A post about the YVR AddFare for even more details.

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