Low-income transit passes campaign heats up as fares rise July 1
Metro Vancouver advocacy group pushes for income-based discounts as five per cent fare hike looms. Toronto and Calgary already offer them.
A Metro Vancouver transit-rider campaign is calling on the province to expand low-income bus passes before fares jump five per cent on July 1.
Right now, B.C.'s discounted pass is only available to low-income seniors and people on disability. Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders wants it expanded to all low-income earners—like Toronto and Calgary already do.
"People are choosing between groceries and a bus ride," said Aman Chandi, director of programs at Movement. "That should not be the case."
Chandi pointed to Surrey, where many newcomers, Indigenous people, and seniors rely on transit. She recounted speaking with an urban Indigenous Elder who had $2 in her bank account and couldn't afford a bus ticket.
After the hike, a one-zone adult cash fare will cost $3.50 (up from $3.35); concession fares for seniors and youth jump to $2.30. Toronto offers low-income riders a 36 per cent discount. Calgary's sliding-scale system runs as low as $6.30 a month. A cost analysis Movement received from TransLink pegged full expansion at a maximum of $70 million—what the group calls "a drop in the bucket."
TransLink said it would support income-based discounts if the government backed the funding. The ministry of social development said nothing new about expansion in the 2026 budget.
Movement is planning a July 1 rally to push local politicians to act.