BC Transit delays tap payments on buses until 2023
BC Transit has pushed back the launch of its electronic tap fare system to 2023.
The system, called Umo (pronounced "you-mo") was originally supposed to launch in Victoria in fall 2022, before rolling out across the province.
In an update on Sept. 23 on the BC Transit website, the company said the new system would instead launch in spring 2023.
Umo will roll out in two phases. The first phase will let riders pay with a mobile app and reloadable smart card. The second phase will allow riders to pay with credit cards, debit cards and mobile wallets.
BC Transit notes that cash will still be accepted for all fares.
Umo will launch in 30 transit systems and five interregional routes across the province. It will first launch in Victoria, before rolling out across B.C. over a span of several months.
BC Transit says the new system will improve cleanliness by reducing touchpoints, improve convenience for riders, and attract more riders through new digital promotions.
The electronic fare system cost $23.2-million to implement, with the federal government funding 50 per cent of the cost, the provincial government covering 40 per cent, and local governments contributing 10 per cent.
Umo will launch in B.C. communities in the following order in 2023:
- Victoria Regional Transit System
- Cowichan Valley Regional
- Regional District of Nanaimo
- Comox Valley Regional
- Campbell River
- Port Alberni Regional
- Powell River
- Sunshine Coast
- Squamish
- Whistler
- Pemberton
- Central Frazer Valley, Chilliwack
- Agassiz-Harrison
- Hope Regional, Kamloops
- Vernon Regional
- Kelowna Regional
- South Okanagan
- West Kootenay
- Cranbrook
- Prince George
- Quesnel
- Fort St. John
- Dawson Creek
- Kitimat
- Terrace Regional
- Skeena Regional
- Prince Rupert
- Port Edward
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.