fares for monthly commuter smart cards

And like you found for Fukuoka (which is the same as here in Tokyo), you can buy a commuter pass for 1, 3, or 6 months, and get a greater discount for obvious reasons. Multiple month commuter passes...a definite option for Translink to consider!

Either way, the zone system seems to work still, IC tech would be wonderful and probably increase ridership, and we should consider the discounts for longer passes and faresavers.

Sorry I disagree with you when you say people are willing to pay higher taxes. Most people in the world hate paying taxes, and unless it is something fundamental like public safety services (fire/police).

Various factors such as urban density, the North America in many cities just does not have the urban density like say Tokyo to make public transit actually profitable. Most public transit systems are unprofitable relying heavily on government subsidies.

I don't see how implementing a IC card system into your current system, would magically produce more riders. I would argue even if it were free it might produce some extra riders, but not an extraordinary amount where the entire city will start riding buses everywhere.

I don't disagree that public transit is good, I want an upgrade to my commuter rail system as well. But I have to look at it from a funding issue, tax payers, urban density, (ie, if we build a fancy fast train that costs $$$ to operate will anyone ride it, because of low population density).

Hi Jon
nothing has changed yet, it is mostly talk so far thought, as I said, fares will go up in 2008 as explained below:

"TransLink spokesperson Ken Hardie says that next year's proposed fare increase won't really hurt low-income riders. He claimed that the new fare structure that will be tabled for approval at a June 27 TransLink board meeting actually provides an "incentive" for people who use either a monthly pass or prepaid tickets.

Under the plan, the cost of a one-zone monthly pass will go up from the current price of $69 to $73 in 2008. Using the assumption that a rider makes 42 trips with that pass, Hardie noted that the price increase for each trip is only a dime. It's the same increase, he says, for a one-zone prepaid ticket, for which the price will go from $1.80 to $1.90.

Hardie pointed out that people who pay a cash fare will see their tickets go up from the current price of $2.25 to $2.50, or an additional quarter"

Yes "zones" are a distance-based system but it is easier and cheaper for those that live/work mainly within one zone, as I used to do for many
years, than paying a different fare every single trip, even one only a few blocks away.
I think that it is unlikely that we will get IC cards before the Olympics, as it looks like Translink is still not aware of all the pros/ cons but also because installing that system is both costly and relatively time consuming. The 2008 budget has been finalized and has nothing about a smart card system.

John,
when I said that people don't mind paying taxes I am obviously referring especially to Europe, from Finland where I lived a short while as a student, to France and Germany, both countries where I lived and worked for a while, to Spain and Italy etc. . They do pay high taxes and bitch about it but on the other hand I have seen--and see, as I go there nearly every year-- the steady crowds of shoppers since downtown shopping streets in just about every town, big or small, have been turned into pedestrian areas (starting in the mid-1970s). New transit systems were built from the mid-90s on in many places , etc.
there is of course a long history over there of the involvement of the state, regardless of the type of government. Planning for the good of the majority of the people is expected. Kings and Emperors had whole areas of many towns rebuilt , new towns built from scratch, free schools and hospitals opened etc. so one could hardly call state-controlled town planning "socialism".
to go back to smartcards in my city, I didn't ask for them, Our transit authority is the one that want them, perhaps not really knowing what is really involved.

I agree with you that this isn't going to increase the number of transit users, far from it. The only way to have more riders is to have more rapid transit lines across the whole town, not only one sector. Right now buses, private cars, trucks fight for the same space and it takes more and more time for everybody to go wherever they go. On a 1 km long trip downtown walking is faster than taking a bus.

Unfortunately there is no vision at the top, just some patching up using old solutions.

Plantagenesta, thanks so much for a most enlightening discussion of transit in Vancouver (and for telling me that I'm going to be paying more for bus rides when I go home!).

We seem to agree that the zone system works fine in Vancouver, and charging by exact distance traveled wouldn't work in our city. With respect to the IC card issue, it seems like we won't see them anytime soon in Vancouver, but that's okay as they really are merely a convenience. I am a bit worried though about how our city will be perceived come Olympics time. Our transportation system of largely buses, and especially the whole system of trust at Skytrain stations (no one checking tickets) will probably have some visitors perceive the system as a bit simplistic and made for a small community...not the kind of place that hosts Olympics...and I like to think that Vancouver is a bit bigger than that.

At the least, maybe translink can consider other things that make it easier and cheaper to ride public transit here in Japan. The train to the airport, even if it's awfully close to my backyard, is certainly needed. The more train lines that are built, as well as introducing 3 & 6 month commuter passes and making faster fareboxes and/or ticket machine/gates, would attract a few more riders. And of course by this I mean a small to moderate increase in riders, nothing dramatic though there's always a hope, especially around now when gas seems to cost an arm and a leg.

Again, thanks Plantagenesta and everyone else. I usually don't get so involved in a forum topic!