After our mayors voted to impose a two-cent gas tax last year which is supposed to improve our transit service – help build the Evergreen Line as well as improve SkyTrain and SeaBus service and add rapid buses in Surrey – the TransLink board is asking for another fare increase.
TransLink is proposing to increase transit fares by 25 cents for one- and two-zone fares and by 50 cents for three-zone fares, taking our three-zone fares to $5.50 each way. The problem is that Surrey riders will be faced with the biggest increase when we receive the least amount of service.
The idea of public transit is that it should be accessible and affordable for people to use. Even the one-zone fare increase for Surrey riders is unfair because we simply do not have the level of service they have on the other side of the Fraser.
We should urge Mayor Watts to not support this proposed transit fare increase as it is unfair to Surrey transit riders.
Imtiaz Popat, Surrey
