NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – Good bye TransLink fare zones, hello kilometres. The Mayors’ Council has approved a new distance-based fare system where customers pay based on how far they ride on the SkyTrain and Seabus.

Under the new system, riders will pay a base fare and then smaller increments based on how far they travel, similar to a taxi fare. The change will get rid of zones, meaning savings for those who currently go short distances, but cross zones.

TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond says the approval follows two years of public consultation.

“Certainly the unfairness of people that are traveling in short distances between two, in effect arbitrary, zone boundaries, eliminating that makes a lot of sense,” he said following Thursday’s vote.

TransLink originally said it would like to have the system running by 2020, but Desmond stepped back from announcing any official launch dates.

“We needed the guidance today from the Mayors’ Council so now we can go out and design the changes,” he said. “It’s technically feasible but it’s very, very complicated… The action today from the Mayors’ Council allows us to take it to the next step going forward. So now we go to the designers, the technology, how do we make this happen? When can we make it happen? How do we do it at hopefully minimal cost?”

The new system was widely endorsed by TransLink, which recommended to the mayors it last month. Now, TransLink needs to develop the fare system and implementation plan which will be approved later.

Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner says it’s good to see the plan moving forward.

“There will be those that see this plan as a move forward, particularly the ones that have to pay in a zone where they’re going a very short distance and have to pay a two-zone fare, so all in all I think it’s a great plan,” she said.

Under the new pricing scheme, the most a customer would pay wouldn’t be more than the current adult 3-zone fare of $5.70. While some riders may end up paying less than they do now, some may pay a little more.

Final charges-by-distance still need to be approved but @TransLink says prices will not exceed the current 3-zone fare. Customers already paying the maximum fare won’t pay more under distance-based pricing, it says. — Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) July 26, 2018

The mayors also approved plans to explore new discounts or rewards during off-peak hours to manage overcrowding, and to lobby the provincial government to reduce fares for low-income residents, youth and children.

Once it received final approval, the new payment scheme will include new distance-based bus passes.

Since introducing its tap to pay system in May, TransLink says more than 160,000 credit cards have been used to directly pay for more than 1 million rides.