C-Tran to hike fares in 2026 to approach prices before COVID

C-Tran riders will pay a bit more in 2026. The transit agency’s board members voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of fare increases to take effect next year. The increases are part of a fare restoration plan that is gradually increasing C-Tran fares from temporary rate cuts put in place in January 2022 as Clark County was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial fare reductions in 2022 decreased adult fares from $1.80 to $1 for local service buses and from $3.85 to $2.50 for express service buses, Julie Syring, C-Tran’s chief financial officer, told the board during their monthly meeting on Tuesday evening. Syring said the regional bus fares, as well as daily and monthly fare caps, did not change in 2022. In June 2023, the C-Tran board approved a partial restoration of fares, Syring said. Two years later, on June 10, C-Tran staff presented the board with another partial fare restoration plan that will increase local, regional and express bus fares for adults while extending no-cost local bus and C-Van services for youth ages 18 and younger. Students over the age of 18 who are eligible for C-Tran’s Education Opportunity Pass will also be able to ride local buses and C-Vans for free under the 2026 fare restoration plan. Syring said this mostly impacts Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver students. The new fares Beginning in 2026, C-Tran’s fares will increase for most riders: For adults, local bus fares will increase from $1.25 to $1.50 with a daily cap of $4.25 and a monthly cap of $62; regional bus fares will cost $2.80 (a 30 cent increase for people who paid $2.50 using cash or a HOP Fastpass transit fare card in 2025) with a daily cap of $5 and a monthly cap of $100; and express bus service to Portland will increase from $3 to $3.25 with a daily cap of $6.50 and a monthly cap of $115 — up from $6 a day and $105 a month in 2025. For C-Tran’s honored riders, which include older adults, people with disabilities and Medicare recipients, local bus fares will increase from 60 cents to 75 cents with the same daily caps of $2.50 and a monthly cap of $28. Honored riders will pay $1.40 for regional bus fares with caps of $2.80 a day and $28 a month. For express bus service to Portland, honored riders will pay $3.25, up from $3, per ride during peak hours and $1.60 during nonpeak hours, with a $6.50 daily cap and $115 monthly cap. Youth will ride local buses and C-Vans for free but will pay increased fares on regional and express buses — $1.40 for regional buses with a daily cap of $2.80 and a monthly cap of $28 and $3.25 for express buses with a daily cap of $6.25 and a monthly cap of $115. Syring told the board in her staff report that C-Tran conducted public outreach on the proposed fare increases in June and July. During Tuesday night’s public hearing on the fare increases, two community members — Camas resident Margaret Tweet and Vancouver resident Carmen DeLeon — commented on the proposal. Both said they favored charging a bit more for bus service in Clark County. Syring said C-Tran staff expect the latest fare restoration efforts to add $150,000 to $300,000 to C-Tran’s annual revenues. Kelly Moyer: 360-735-4674; kelly.moyer@columbian.com

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