The way to attract more riders to Victoria鈥檚 regional transit system 鈥� thereby saving energy and alleviating traffic congestion 鈥� is to make riding the bus more convenient and affordable. Eliminating transfers does neither.
Transit passengers who need to take more than one bus to get to their destination will no longer receive a transfer, as of April 1. Instead, they will have the option of buying an all-day pass for $5, the price of two fares, doubling the cost of a one-way, two-bus trip.
The day-pass option is a good one for passengers making round trips, and they are probably the majority, but the elimination of transfers will mean added expense and inconvenience for many others, making it easier for them to choose cars over buses.
The Victoria Regional Transit Commission periodically makes changes aimed at improving ridership. In 2007, it adopted a multi-directional transfer that allowed short-haul riders enough time to take a bus, run a few errands and return home 鈥� on a single fare. In 2008, the commission eliminated transit zones, which meant passengers throughout the system, from Sooke to Sidney, paid the same fare, instead of paying more for longer rides.
The zone system had its quirks. It was cheaper for someone from Oak Bay to take the bus to play the slots at the View Royal casino than it was for a View Royal resident who lived only a few blocks away. And some View Royal residents who wanted to go the Juan de Fuca Rec Centre had to pay more to get there than someone from Sooke.
That was because the bus zones changed from a single-zone fare zone to a two-zone fare in the middle of View Royal, a boundary put in place in the 1980s before the town was incorporated.
By eliminating transfers, the commission has, in effect, brought the zone system back for some people 鈥� those who need more than one bus to reach their destinations. That could be a person who gets dropped off at work by a spouse, but takes the bus home because of work-schedule differences. It might be a person who walks in daylight, but prefers the bus to walking home in the dark. It might mean walking a few extra blocks for someone for whom that is a hardship.
The commission decided to eliminate transfers after being told by the bus drivers鈥� union that transfers were a persistent source of disagreement, conflict and delay. Fraud has been a persistent problem, as some people use old transfers to cheat the system.
Those are legitimate concerns, and we support moves that result in safer working conditions for transit drivers. The cheaters are not just stealing from the 鈥渟ystem,鈥� they are robbing all of us.
A few years ago, officials estimated the system was losing about $250,000 a year to riders who abused it. Social-media posts alerted people to which transfers were being used on a certain day.
Changing the format of transfers in 2011 and cracking down on cheaters resulted in B.C. Transit recovering about $600,000 in what would have been lost revenue.
Technology had aided and abetted the cheaters 鈥� perhaps more solutions lie in technology, such as electronic readers that could instantly validate a transfer.
Past changes in the transit system have been aimed at making bus travel more attractive. Eliminating transfers won鈥檛 achieve that aim.
The commission should watch this move closely, with an eye to finding solutions that safeguard drivers and reduce cheating, but it should be wary of anything that discourages people from using public transit.
