On Transit Fares

Having used a U-pass for five years, I have recently realized the value of what I have lost since graduation.Public transportation in this city is just not practical and does not make money sense! Yesterday, I spent $12 in change to use the system, $12 that I would never see again. Such exorbitant fees for such sub-par service has left me thinking about how the system could be improved.

First, we need to abolish transit zones. I have tried again and again, and still haven't been able to wrap my head around the reason for zones Monday to Friday before 6:30 pm. You could take the 99B-line from UBC to Commercial Station, and from Commercial Station back to UBC for just $2.75 (mind you, this is at least 20 km of service). But, however, if you take the sky train from Joyce Station to Patterson Station (entering into Burnaby and traveling a grand total of 1 zone and 1 km of track in 2 min) you would be set back $4.  Zones just have to go.

Second, I have an issue with timed-fares. At the instant that you purchase a fare, it goes on self-destruct mode where it would be invalid in 90 minutes. But what if a trip takes 91 minutes to complete? I remember taking the 49 bus to get home after a sky train ride. I would have just made it onto the bus if it had not been for the long line up ahead of me. My ticket expired by 2 min and had to purchase a new 2 zone ticket for $4. The bus driver said that it was fine by him but if transit police asked me to produce a ticket, then I would be fined. Wait a minute! That does not make sense to me. If, for example, I got on the bus a minute before my ticket expired and suppose transit police were to enter the bus later on in the ride, my ticket would have already expired. Would I then be fined despite entering the bus with a valid ticket? In addition, often I would pay for a bus ride that would total 20 min. The 70 min of what remains on the value of the fare would go to waste. Needless to say, it may be cheaper to drive a car for a month than to buy a monthly pass.

Why can't we have a system that deducts from our compass cards an amount proportional to the time traveled (like in Singapore)? Or a flat rate per ride with designated free transfers (like in New York)?

Third, it's well-known that with the introduction of the Compass Card, Translink will abolish the privilege that allows for families to travel under one monthly pass on Sundays. Could they at least uphold this policy? It is, after all, a policy that promotes the use of public transit. The removal of such policies may contribute to a preference for driving over taking public transit.

One final though I have has to do with the distance between bus stops. Why are there bus stops on every block? We would see better traffic flow if buses stopped at every other street (including main streets of course). While having many stops increases accessibility, we clearly don't need stops every 100 m. Now, some may argue that we have express bus lines like the 99 and 43. The issue at hand is that we need more stops like these. In addition, what if we were to have express trains. Or even express trains that run from Metrotown to Granville or Waterfront to the YVR during peak periods?

If we consider some of the points I have raised here, maybe our transit system will make some progress earlier rather than later.

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Jason Tu