British Columbia

Vancouver commutes just got more expensive with price hikes and tax increases

Commuting in Metro Vancouver is getting more expensive, with increases to fares, as well as gas and parking taxes.

Transit fares are up as well as gas and parking tax hikes

TransLink's price hike is intended to help cover a funding gap for major projects. (Roland Tanglao/Flickr)

Commuting in Metro Vancouver is getting more expensive.

Starting Monday, TransLink is hiking fares for the city's public transit system. Depending on the type of ticket, Single-use fares are increasing by five to 10 cents, day passes by 25 cents and monthly passes by $2 to $3.  

The price hike is intended to help TransLink cover a funding gap for major projects — such as approved SkyTrain extensions from Surrey to Langley and out to the University of British Columbia. 

It's the third fare increase announced in 2016 to help pay for increased services, as part of the Mayors' Council 10-Year Vision for Regional Transportation.

The gas tax will rise another 1.5 cents per litre. (Joshua Lott/Reuters)

The gas tax is also up another 1.5 cents per litre from 17 cents to 18.5 just as gas prices slip from record highs. 

Even parking costs are up, with a three per cent parking tax hike on stalls that offer hourly, daily or monthly rates.  On the average $5-dollar-an-hour stall, that's an extra 15 cents. 

Metered parking isn't impacted.

Corrections

  • An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported how much the gas tax increased. It is up 1.5 cents per litre.
    Jul 02, 2019 12:22 PM PT

With files from Yvette Brend