A recipe for disaster

Advertisement for new single-zone bus pricing, SkyTrain, Vancouver, BC

When prices go down, demand goes up. That is one of the most fundamental principles in economics. The public transit system in Vancouver used to apply pricing in a consistent way. There are three fare zones. If your trip in within a single zone your need a one-zone ticket. If your trip goes from one zone to another you need a two zone ticket. And if your trip includes all three zones then you need a three zone ticket.

But now the transit operator, TransLink, is changing the pricing system and all trips on the bus will only require a one zone ticket, while trip son the SeaBus or SkyTrain will remain multi-zone if they cross a zone boundary. So, if I have the choice of taking a SeaBus or SkyTrain, or a bus, I may be tempted to take the bus and save some money.

So, this should lead to more bus passengers and fewer SeaBus and SkyTrain passengers.

But evidently TransLink is not planning to add any more buses. So, more demand and the same supply. Sounds like the making of a fiasco.