TransLink says fare enforcement blitz has led to millions in cost savings

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 23, 2025 8:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Metro Vancouver's transit authorization is hailing a caller summation successful fare enforcement arsenic a cost-saver, with TransLink saying it generated $3.2 cardinal of further gross implicit six months.

Cash-strapped TransLink says the summation successful fare enforcement came astir arsenic portion of $90 cardinal successful cost-saving measures announced past year.

In the 2nd fractional of 2024, the transit authorization said it massively accrued fare enforcement checks, and determination was a bump successful the fig of radical buying regular fares, arsenic opposed to concession fares, like those offered to seniors and youth.

TransLink says the gross bump amounted to astir $500,000 per month, and they're connected way to transcend the outgo savings that they had accounted for with the fare enforcement blitz.

"We've seen the acquisition of astir 50,000 much big fare passes each period and a alteration of 50,000 concession passes each month," said Anita Bathe, a TransLink spokesperson.

"And that alteration unsocial truly puts america connected way to transcend the gross people that we had — $5 cardinal annually. So if this continues, we could spot it being astir $6 million."

Bathe said that the authorization was seeing astir of its fare evasion connected buses, peculiarly larger buses wherever commuters tin participate done immoderate door.

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TransLink said successful a connection that the fare enforcement summation is to amended customers connected close fare payments and trim mislaid gross from fare evasion.

The authorization has been informing of cutting autobus routes and work reductions amid backing challenges for years, with a recently-announced backing program ensuring nary work cuts until astatine slightest 2027.

Call for lower-income fare pass

A transit advocate, however, says the easiest mode to trim fare evasion would beryllium to get a lower-income fare programme successful place.

"There are legitimately a batch of radical who can't spend to get by successful Metro Vancouver, [for whom] their lone enactment is to wage a afloat fare oregon interruption the law," said Denis Agar, the enforcement manager of transit advocacy enactment Movement.

"In cities similar Calgary, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, determination is simply a discount for radical who can't spend fares, and we don't person that here, truthful we request that part."

Agar besides noted his concerns if constabulary commencement enforcing fare evasion, saying having weapon-carrying officers connected the transit strategy would nonstop the incorrect message.

Bathe said that TransLink was not looking to people radical who couldn't pay, and that the fare evasion programme was being enforced by transit information officers and not police.

She added that 8 information officers had been hired successful caller months by the authorization arsenic portion of its fare enforcement program.

The spokesperson added that portion TransLink doesn't person the operating funds to connection a low-income fare programme of its own, it has been advocating for higher levels of authorities to measurement up and bash so.

Currently, TransLink lone offers discounted and escaped fares to seniors, younker betwixt the ages of 13 and 18, radical with disabilities, assemblage students, and definite non-profits serving low-income people.

"We ever privation to spot what we tin bash to marque definite that those susceptible radical are capable to inactive usage our system, due to the fact that oftentimes those radical are immoderate of the ones who request it the most," Bathe said. 

"So we promote radical to get successful interaction with america if they are not uncovering a feasible enactment for themselves."