A transit increase could be rolling out in Chilliwack to increase bus fares to $2.25 for all riders by October 2025.
City of Chilliwack staff has completed its fare review process that began last winter, and staff are recommending at 25-cent-increase for each of the years 2025, 2026 and 2027.
"The last transit fare increases in Chilliwack took place in September 2013," according to the June 10 staff report.
That's when the adult fare was raised from $1.50 to $2 and the senior/student fare went from from $1.25 to $1.75. But under the proposed new structure a single ride would be going up to $2.25 in 2025 for adults, seniors and students, $2.50 in 2026-27 and $2.75 in 2027-28.
A subsequent fare increase had been planned to coincide with the Transit Future Action Plan but it was delayed by the pandemic, a transit strike and other issues.
Council is set to vote on the staff recommendations for fare increases at the council meeting on June 17.
"In addition to a fare increase, BC Transit will be removing paper transfers and replacing this service with a DayPass-on Board program for cash-paying users. Under this model, the passengers pay twice the base fare in cash and receive a dated paper DayPass from the operator at the time of boarding, which grants them unlimited travel for the remainder of the calendar day," according to the staff report.
The change is expected to simplify fare payment, enhance efficiency and eliminate transfer-related disputes, said the report.
To further streamline fare payment, BC Transit will implement fare capping through Umo, which ensures passengers who are using Umo store value or Open-Loop payments will never pay more than the equivalent of two single fares per day rather than requiring them to pre purchase a DayPass.
The system automatically tracks payments and provides unlimited travel once the fare cap is reached. This has been implemented in eleven other major transit systems and has demonstrated significant benefits.
