Vancouver pushes Ottawa for $25 transit passes for low-income riders
City council votes unanimously to advocate for affordable monthly passes—but funding decision rests with province.
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Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to push for $25 monthly transit passes for people earning under $40,000 a year—but the fight now moves to senior government, which controls the purse and the policy.
COPE Councillor Sean Orr introduced the motion after pointing out that TransLink has raised fares steadily. A four per cent increase in 2025 pushed the one-zone monthly pass from $107.30 to $111.60. Another five per cent hike this year will take it to $117.20.
"And who feels that the most?" Orr asked. "It's the single parent trying to get to their second job. It's the young person who aged out of youth programs and can't afford a monthly pass. It's the person who has chosen between groceries and bus fare."
Vancouver is the only major Canadian city without a low-income transit pass for all ages. Calgary offers a sliding-scale pass as low as $6.30 monthly; Toronto provides a 21 per cent discount on adult monthly passes.
ABC Councillor Brian Montague amended the motion to direct city staff to advocate to TransLink and the Province—because TransLink is a regional service funded by senior government, not the city.
TransLink estimated in 2024 that expanding subsidized fares to all low-income adults would cost $60 to $70 million annually, requiring additional provincial funding the authority said it couldn't provide alone.
BC Poverty Reduction backed the push, noting that a full-time worker on Vancouver minimum wage earns just under $38,000 before taxes.