Better Transit YYJ

The Public Engagement Event for the Interurban Wilkinson Project is tomorrow, June 2 from 4 to 8 p.m.!

Join us in person to learn about the project, talk with District staff and the project team, and share your experiences, ideas and priorities.🚶🚲🚗

📅 Tuesday, June 2
🕓 4 to 8 p.m.
📍 Strawberry Vale Community Hall (11 High Street)
☕🖍️ Light refreshments and a children’s craft table will be provided.

An online survey will be open from Tuesday, June 2 until Thursday, July 2 for those who cannot attend or prefer to provide feedback digitally.

Learn more: saanich.ca/helloIWP

Credit, debit card payment now available on Greater Victoria buses

The long-awaited move comes three years after B.C. Transit introduced its digital Umo payment system.
By Michael John Lo - May 19, 2026

Transit riders in Greater Victoria — and most of the rest of B.C. — can finally pay for their bus journeys by tapping their credit cards, debit cards or smartphone wallets.

When B.C. Transit began trying out the Umo fare ­payment system on Victoria-area buses in the spring of 2023, it anticipated that it would bring in mobile wallet, credit and debit card payment by the time the system was fully rolled out across the province.

But it ended up taking about three years for B.C. Transit and Umo to make that happen.

Until now, riders who didn’t pay with cash had to use a Umo card or a Umo app on their smartphones.

B.C. Transit CEO Erinn ­Pinkerton said at a news ­conference Tuesday that ­contactless ­payments were tested in ­Whistler 12 weeks ago, and already 18 per cent of ­riders are choosing to tap to pay for their fares.

When transit is accessible and easy to use, she said, people are “more likely to make it part of their everyday lives and become a lifelong rider.”

Pinkerton said the rollout was delayed because B.C. Transit had to replace outdated ­magnetic stripe technology on 900 buses and figure out how to redo the payment systems for dozens of transit systems across the province, which took time.

It was also Umo’s first time rolling out a contactless payment system in Canada and B.C. Transit had to make sure it was following industry standards for credit-card compliance, she said. “So there was a lot of work to get to this stage.”

Umo is a unit of the California-based transit and defence company Cubic Corp., which also designed and operates the Compass payment system used by TransLink in Metro Vancouver.

Pinkerton said B.C. Transit follows provincial guidelines for using U.S. vendors, and is “always looking” at ways to shift to Canadian vendors when possible. She noted that Umo has offices in Canada and all payments are made inside the country.

Ryan Dennis, B.C. Transit’s director of strategy and growth, said the transit agency worked with Umo and Moneris, an Ontario-headquartered payment processing company, to create a custom system that would meet B.C. Transit’s needs.

B.C. Transit’s trial runs in Whistler and Pemberton have been “flawless” in terms of customer experience, but some tweaks were needed to make sure that fare money went to the right places, he said.

“We need to make sure that a dollar coming into Victoria gets put to a Victoria bank account, versus a Kelowna or a Terrace dollar,” he said.

Using a credit card or debit card, the adult fare for a single boarding on Victoria’s system is $3, with a daily cap of $6 if you use the same payment card for all boardings in a day.

Because B.C. Transit owns the hardware on the buses, it’s ­possible to switch to a different provider, “but it would not be without some challenges and effort along the way,” Dennis said.

Pinkerton said the project is coming in under its $24.8-million budget but did not provide specifics.

Previous public estimates of the rollout were $23.2 million, with the funding split between the federal government at 50 per cent and the provincial government at 40 per cent, with local governments making up the rest.

Victoria MP Will Greaves, who sits on the federal standing committee on transport, infrastructure and communities, said the federal government has contributed about $9.9 million to help B.C. Transit roll out its contactless payment system, to help encourage transit use in an increasingly cash-free society.

“This is critical as a response to addressing many of the challenges that we face, including high cost of living and increasing energy costs as a result of global factors,” he said.

Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, who is vice-chair of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, said tap-to-pay will make it easier for people to switch over to transit at a time when “the cost of fuel is just unbelievably high.”

“Perhaps with these other pressures, there will be a greater interest in using transit as a regular tool for getting around,” she said.

A mobility survey by the Capital Regional District from 2022 found only about six per cent of all trips in the capital region involved public transit, although the report notes the numbers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Active transportation made up close to a quarter of trip share, but 69 per cent of daily trips were made by car, and more than half of those trips involved a driver travelling alone.

Alto said the payment change will benefit international visitors unfamiliar with local currency, as well as anyone who has had to scrounge for coins at a bus stop.

Caleb Crookes, vice-president of transit advocacy group Better Transit YYJ, said his organization welcomes the change.

“It would have been excellent had that been slightly higher on the to-do list, but overall, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we’re all excited for this.”

Crookes said the Umo payment works fairly well, but people have qualms with the “janky” app, and he recommends using the Umo card for the fastest rider experience.

Having other contactless payment options available will help draw people out of their cars and into buses, he said. “I think a lot of people are going to be a lot more open to taking the bus now that you can just tap your debit card.”

Crookes said he would like B.C. Transit to look into other options on the market when the contract with Umo comes up for renewal, to ensure riders are getting the best experience. “The number-one goal should be rider convenience and rider satisfaction.”