TransLink to start charging fares again June 1

In a bid to stem the financial bleeding at TransLink during the pandemic, the transit authority will resume collecting fares on June 1.

At that time, front-door boarding and fare collection will resume on all buses, with temporary plexiglass extension barriers being added to conventional buses and vinyl barriers being installed on the remainder of the fleet.

Given current ridership levels, it is estimated that approximately $2 million per month will be collected by resuming fare collection on the bus system.

TransLink is losing around $75 million each month due to several factors, including significant reductions in ridership and fuel tax revenue.

“We’ve managed to find an innovative solution which ensures the safety of our bus operators, while also allowing for safe fare collection,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.

“We’ve already started to procure materials and install the barriers on our fleet, with an expectation that this process will be complete by June.”

TransLink is also advising customers that previously announced bus route suspensions and frequency reductions will come into effect on May 18.

This will see 41 routes suspended, in addition to the 18 routes which were suspended in April, and six suspended in early May.

Frequency will be reduced on most remaining bus routes.

The Richmond News reported last month how TransLink temporarily laid off almost 1,500 employees to cope with the authority haemorrhaging $75 million a month.

The transit authority also cut services across the region, including to the Canada Line and several bus services within Richmond.

The Canada Line has had its peak service reduced by 18 per cent while the 414 bus route – from Brighouse Station to the Olympic Oval – was suspended.

And at the beginning of May, several other bus routes, including the 416 (East Cambie to Brighouse), are also expected to be suspended.

TransLink said the cost-saving measures are being made to “preserve Metro Vancouver’s transit system.”

It added that it has had a commitment from the B.C. government to ensure near-regular service can be restored by September.

For more information, visit translink.ca/servicechanges.