BC Transit is raising some of its bus fares in Victoria by 20 per cent next year to help keep up with operating costs.
Starting April 1, 2025, the single ride fare will rise from $2.50 to $3, while DayPASS fees will increase from $5 a day to $6.
Both the concession 30-day pass, priced at $45, and the adult 30-day pass, currently priced at $85, will remain unchanged.
The price increase was approved by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) at a meeting on Tuesday.
It comes after the commission asked BC Transit staff to review fare costs in 2023.
The review included several months of public consultation at the end of the year, and recommended the 20 per cent increase for single and DayPASS tickets, as well as raising the concession 30-day passes by $10 from $45 to $55.
The VRTC approved the 20 per cent increase for single-day and DayPASS fares, but decided against increasing the monthly passes.
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(BC Transit)
“The cost of operating transit has increased, as has the demand for service with an ever-growing population,” said BC Transit in a statement to CHEK News Thursday.
“This fare increase will support BC Transit’s ability to improve and expand on service in the region in the coming years.”
BC Transit says its last increase for fares in Victoria was in 2010.
It adds that the VRTC is always on the lookout for ways to balance funding and maintain or improve service in the Victoria Regional Transit System.
This fare increase comes months after the province announced $28 million in its 2024 budget to increase service across the province by 14.5 per cent or an additional 358,000 hours by the 2027/28 fiscal year.
The province has not announced which communities will get the funding to increase service but when announced in the 2024 budget said it would be for “priority communities.”
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