Free rides, hidden costs: Why free transit services in B.C. may not be the best route
The BC Greens want to make transit free for everyone, but the well-intentioned approach raises concerns about service quality
Having free public transit in B.C. may do more harm than good. (File art by Kristen Frier.)
The future of Metro Vancouver’s transit authority is looking gloomy.
Starting 2026, TransLink is projecting about a $600-million yearly funding gap. If a new funding model is not established, the authority says potential cuts to transit services would be needed by the end of next year to balance their budget.
In the midst of this ongoing issue, the BC Greens, led by Sonia Furstenau, announced their proposal last month to make public transit free in the province with the aim of relieving financial strains on families, creating more livable and connected communities, and reducing B.C.’s carbon footprint.
However, considering the financial shortfall TransLink says it’s experiencing, this proposal raises serious questions about the prospects of free transit as a viable operational endeavour. TransLink is forecasting to earn $685 million in passenger fares in 2025, and there will be the need to replace TransLink’s lost revenue — most likely from already over-leveraged public purses.
No fare revenue for B.C. transit agencies could mean higher taxes and budgets and less to spend on issues such as fire protection, public safety, education, health care, and roads.
Free transit could also mean transit agencies will have fewer funds available to respond to an increase in demand and accommodating necessary upgrades. The result may be that service significantly stagnates or has serious operational impacts, like we saw during the pandemic — a situation no one benefits from.
Getting rid of fares also skirts the real issue — service. Denis Agar, executive director of Movement, a Metro Vancouver group of transit riders, professionals, and enthusiasts, told the Vancouver Sun that free transit isn’t “necessarily the right move” to address affordability, since users typically rank factors regarding quality of service higher.
Convenience is a top factor when it comes to transit, and quite possibly, the issue of affordability trails behind convenience.
David Cooper, a Calgary-based transit consultant, told the Vancouver Sun that the issue with fare-free systems is that even if the government covers the cost of the lost revenues, it comes with losing a key lever to expand service.
That loss of money can hurt the people who ride transit, because with less revenue from fares — that is, fewer paying customers — transit systems could become less responsive to their riders and have a long-range effect as the quality of service declines.
Making transit free might also hurt the public’s perception of it — when something is perceived to have no monetary cost, demand for it could increase, causing more wear and tear to be put on the equipment that provides transit. Such a move could further strain already struggling public services in cities.
But what’s certain is that if the province doesn’t improve its funding scheme with TransLink, the only way to lower fares would be to make significant reductions in service that would only take us a step further away from improving transit for all.
