Canada Line AddFare coming Monday, January 18
The AddFare will actually be implemented in a different way than we earlier proposed. Here’s the details:
The new YVR AddFare will cost $5, on top of the regular fare. The AddFare will only apply to anyone buying cash fare tickets at any Canada Line station on Sea Island, for travel from the airport to Richmond or Vancouver. (Said another way: the AddFare only applies to those buying cash fares for travel off of Sea Island.) Ticket machines at these stations will automatically charge the correct amount. Anyone using pre-paid fares will be exempt and will not be charged an additional fare for any trip on the Canada Line to or from the airport. Pre-paid fares include DayPasses, FareCards, FareSaver Tickets, U-Passes, Employer Passes and the BC Government Bus Pass Program. Also, travel on the Canada Line is free between stations on Sea Island. By the way, this new fare was approved in principle in 2004 as one of the ways to pay for the construction of the Canada Line. Clarification: The funds from the AddFare will go directly to TransLink to cover the construction costs. And just to refresh your memory, the stations on Sea Island are YVR-Airport, Sea Island Centre and Templeton.
Please check out the very full explanation of the AddFare and its history over at the Regional Transportation Commissioner’s website.
Also, since someone will surely ask, here is the answer to one of the scenarios you might encounter (a colleague was bending his brain thinking of these).
From the Buzzer Blog: http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/01/canada-line-yvr-addfare-coming-mon-jan-18-heres-how-it-works/