The 7% Solution

It has been puzzling me greatly, TransLink’s claim that; “SkyTrain revenue up 7% after closing of fare gates.”

Strange that because prior to the fare gate introduction, the majority of the fares for SkyTrain were paid on the bus.

As over 80% of SkyTrain’s customers first take the bus, the fare was paid on the bus, either by cash; fare saver; monthly/annual passes and or Daypass; with the only fares that could be directly linked to SkyTrain coming via the fare machines at stations.

The only difference now is that all the buses operate via flat fare, with SkyTrain having 3 zones, with the Compass Card apportioning fares between bus and metro.

Question: “Was bus revenue up by 7% as well?”

The 7% increase is probably nothing more than a change in accounting practices, with the Compass Card giving an almost exact apportioned fare due to the metro and not from chastened fare evaders.

The real winner is the provincial government who forced the faregates onto TransLink and is eager to show that it was the correct thing to do. The mainstream media as always, took the bait and printed this bit of nonsense with out any research or fact checking.

SkyTrain revenue up 7% after closing of fare gates: TransLink

by Martin MacMahon

Posted Apr 29, 2016

(Denise Wong, NEWS 1130 Photo)

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) ai??i?? Closing SkyTrain fare gates earlier this month is paying major dividends for TransLink.

TransLinkai??i??s chief executive says SkyTrain revenue is up seven per cent.

Itai??i??s a seemingly simple formula; now that the gates have closed, more people are paying up to use the system.

This seven per cent revenue increase, if sustained over the long term, would mean an extra $6 million to $7 million for TransLink per year.

ai???Itai??i??s looking at the stations ai??i?? thereai??i??s some estimating going on ai??i?? itai??i??s looking at just prior to the gate closures and just after the gate closures. Thatai??i??s the best way our statisticians can analyze this, at this point,ai??? says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.

Itai??i??s hard to say whether this new increased revenue level will sustain itself in the long run. After all, the gates were only fully closed this month.

ai???Itai??i??s going to take awhile to see how everything fully settles out. And of course, weai??i??ll look system-wide ai??i?? the buses and all the other modes ai??i?? but thatai??i??s a very good indication of the very high utilization of the Compass Cards,ai??? adds Desmond.

For more on the story………