The C-Tran Board of Directors on Tuesday approved a plan to change bus fares in preparation for its new electronic fare payment system, Hop Fastpass.
The board approved the changes 8-1. Directors Greg Anderson, Marc Boldt, Jack Burkman, Mike Dalesandro, Bart Hansen, John Main, Jennifer McDaniel and Anne McEnerny-Ogle voted yes. Jeanne Stewart voted no.
“I think the program is confusing and it complicates transit riding,” Stewart said. “I’m concerned about the complication of the way we do fares.”
The fare changes will come Sept. 1. The other 13 changes to fare policy are meant to align C-Tran fare policy with that of TriMet and Portland Streetcar. They will come online in phases. The electronic fare system itself will come online by 2017.
According to documents prepared by C-Tran staff, the electronic fare system should be easy to use, provide seamless transfers for customers, make for better fiscal controls, be more efficient than cash, and provide new and potentially useful data to the agency. The documents also say a study found no disparate impacts nor disproportional burdens.
The board first directed staff to bring fare increases and electronic fare implementation to the public in December.
Under the new electronic fare system, customers will have to pay $3 for a new Hop Fastpass transit card that will last for 10 years. Each card will have to be loaded with a minimum of $5. Fares will be available for purchase at most convenience and grocery stores in Clark County as well as the C-Tran website.
Customers without a Hop Fastpass can choose to pay with certain bank cards, smartphone apps Mobile Wallet or Apple Pay, or cash.
For riders on the Vancouver side of the Columbia River, the regional all-zone day pass for seniors, disabled people and youths will jump from $2 to $2.50. The agency says the increase will bring prices into step with TriMet’s regional all-zone day passes for those same groups.
Senior, disabled and youth regional monthly passes will drop from $34 to $28. C-Zone passes will also drop, from $30 to $28.
The agency will also change the definition of youth for its youth discount fare from the current ages, 7 to 18 years old, to 7 to 17 years old. However, anyone older than 17 with a current high school photo ID will still be able to get a discount.
Monthly passes will be replaced with monthly charge limits. Anyone who rides twice a day for 20 days will travel the rest of month for free. If a rider buys two 2 1/2 -hour tickets in a day, he or she will be upgraded automatically to a one-day pass.
Passengers will also get a 2 1/2 -hour transfer on any fare, even when purchasing a fare for C-Zone, Regional All-Zone and Express.
