A successful roll out of the Compass card will go a long way toward building back confidence in TransLink.
The transportation authority has been under heavy fire over the past year with the recent referendum highlighting the public's disdain over everything from executive pay to SkyTrain shutdowns. The delay over Compass card implementation appeared to be just another sign of incompetence at the top.
Apparently, though, it was the complicated zone system and issues with tapping out on buses that was posing the greatest challenge and now with a decision to go with a single zone fare for buses, that hurdle appears to have been cleared.
Now the commuting public is eagerly awaiting the roll out of the system that will put the transit system squarely into the modern-era and make taking transit more convenient.
Single-use Compass tickets will be sold by vending machines later this month, but by October and November, Compass cards will be available in machines, retail outlets, walk-in centres and by mail for those ordering online or by phone.
No longer will passengers have to find correct change for a cash fare, or spend time buying prepaid tickets or passes ahead of time at stores, according to TransLink.
Instead, they'll log in to the compasscard.ca website or insert the card at kiosks and load money on their account, which will be automatically drawn down as they use it. For regular monthly pass users, the auto-load option can be set to automatically buy the next month's pass.
Users can check their balances online, through a mobile website or through an automated phone system and families will be able to have multiple cards registered to one payment account.
These conveniences will make transit more accessible and eliminate problems such as getting a tub full of quarters in change when using a $20 bill to buy an adult three zone fare ticket on SkyTrain.
Many people are also waiting for the SkyTrain fare gates to close to eliminate fare cheats and make SkyTrain safer — that's not expected to happen for several months. In the meantime TransLink will need to work double time to explain the new system and make it easy for people to use.
