{"id":775045,"date":"2026-07-02T08:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/775045\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:09:10","slug":"as-transit-fare-hike-goes-into-effect-in-metro-vancouver-protest-calls-for-low-income-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/775045\/","title":{"rendered":"As transit fare hike goes into effect in Metro Vancouver, protest calls for low-income pass"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A protest at Burnaby’s Metrotown SkyTrain station on Wednesday called for a low-income transit pass, as transit fares went up across Metro Vancouver as part of annual fare hikes.<\/p>\n

TransLink, Metro Vancouver’s transit authority, announced it would be increasing fares by an average of five per cent starting July 1<\/a> as it says the increased fares are required to support an ongoing expansion<\/a> of transit service.<\/p>\n

Advocates and protesters said the fare hikes would disproportionately impact low-income people like renters, students and seniors.<\/p>\n

It comes as more Metro Vancouver communities<\/a> endorse the idea of a transit pass geared specifically towards low-income people.<\/p>\n

Philip Vargas, a volunteer with the advocacy group Movement – Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, says he benefits greatly from the existing B.C. Bus Pass program<\/a> which is provided to those on disability assistance and some low-income seniors.<\/p>\n

“It’s so scrutinized and you feel like … every single bit of money you spend or earn is being watched,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"AProtesters at Metrotown station on Wednesday said the fare hike would have more of an impact on low-income people. (Martin Diotte\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Vargas said that a low-income bus pass should ideally be easy to access and have no major restrictions.<\/p>\n

Denis Agar, the executive director of Movement, says Metro Vancouver is one of the only regions in North America without a low-income transit pass.<\/p>\n

“Two hundred dollars a month or more for a three-zone pass is just too much for someone to afford when they’re going paycheque-to-paycheque or when they’re on income assistance,” he said. “And we need to change that.”<\/p>\n

Langley endorses idea<\/p>\n

In early June, Vancouver city council voted to endorse<\/a> the idea of a low-income transit pass, writing to higher levels of government and saying they should step up and fund the idea.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Langley city council passed a similar motion<\/a> from Mayor Nathan Pachal that asks the province to expand the B.C. Bus Pass program to include low-income households.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Langley city council endorses low-income transit pass:\"\"<\/p>\n

Langley city council endorses low-income transit pass as fare hike looms<\/p>\n

TransLink fares will go up five per cent on July 1. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, Langley is the second municipality in Metro Vancouver to endorse a low-income transit pass.<\/p>\n

“I’m hoping that as more communities advocate for this, that, you know, the provincial government will take notice,” Pachal told CBC News.<\/p>\n

He argued that the best way to create an affordable community was to invest in transit, with a Metro Vancouver study in 2025 showing that 22 per cent of household costs<\/a> in the City of Langley were going towards transportation.<\/p>\n

In a statement, TransLink says it is in favour of further equity-based transit discounts \u2014 but it needs to be supported by government partners.<\/p>\n

“TransLink is not in a financial position to implement further discounts independently,” a spokesperson wrote.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Transportation Ministry said that the B.C. Bus Pass program served over 66,200 seniors and 42,800 people on disability assistance last year. <\/p>\n

“In Metro Vancouver, programs such as\u00a0concession fares<\/a>, the\u00a0U Pass [B.C.]<\/a>\u00a0program (led by the ministry), and free transit for children aged 12 and under … also help improve affordability and access,” they wrote in a statement. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-775045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}