BC Transit to eliminate discount on 10 ticket fare in Victoria

A long-standing discount on a sheet of 10 bus tickets will be eliminated at the beginning of next month, BC Transit says.

Currently, a sheet of 10 tickets costs $22.50, a slight discount from the full fare, which is $2.50 per ride.

Starting on May 1, BC Transit will eliminate the discount, and 10 tickets will cost $25. This is the lead up to the transit service eliminating the 10 ticket fare entirely later this year.

All other fares remain unchanged at the moment, but BC Transit recently wrapped up public feedback on possible fare increases for the Victoria system.

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The options BC Transit was proposing ranged from an increase to $2.75 to $3 for a single ride, up to $6 for a day pass (up from the current $5 for a day pass), $90 for a month pass (up from $85), and $55 for a concession month pass (up from $45).

The goal of increasing fares is to increase the number of service hours in the Victoria system, which would mean buses would run more frequently.

However, this consultation wrapped up before the province unveiled its 2024 budget, which included $248 million for BC Transit over three years to expand infrastructure outside of the Lower Mainland, and another $28 million to increase service across the province.

BC Transit confirmed to CHEK News that the fare increase is still planned, but the timeline has been adjusted.

“While a fare increase is still anticipated, it will be implemented later than originally planned, with exact timeline and details still subject to Commission approval,” BC Transit said in an email to CHEK News.

“The last fare increase took place in 2010 and the [Victoria Regional Transit Commission] VRTC will continue looking to balance funding sources to help maintain and improve service in the Victoria Regional Transit System.”

Decisions about fares and service levels are decided by the VRTC, and BC Transit notes the cost of operating transit has increased.

The VRTC is a board made up of nine elected officials. The BC Transit Act stipulates the officials must be the mayor of Victoria; a Victoria councillor; the mayor of Esquimalt or Oak Bay; the mayor of Saanich; a Saanich councillor; the mayor of Sidney, North Saanich or Central Saanich; and the mayor of Colwood, Metchosin, View Royal, Langford, Highlands, Sooke or the electoral area director of the Juan de Fuca electoral area.

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