TransLink’s Compass Card facing more problems
Posted October 29, 2014 10:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It cost $194 million and now it looks like it might never work properly.
TransLink‘s Compass Card system has been plagued with problems since the transit agency started the testing phase.
Now a year behind schedule and over-budget, TransLink says it’s entertaining the idea of suspending the tap-out feature, at least on a temporary basis.
Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says that could end up costing riders more.
“At first the concern about Compass Cards was that people who travelled longer distances would end up being dinged even more. Now we’ve got the exact opposite where the zone system is probably going to be up in the air. I mean how would you be able to prove that a person has gone three zones, two zones or one zone?”
Which could lead to a one-for-all fare if the tap-out is cut permanently, argues NDP transit critic George Heyman.
“Now who knows what the cost for everyone is going to be when it’s impossible to differentiate between the zones.”
Nathan Woods with the bus drivers’ union has said he expects TransLink to do away with the tap-out permanently.
The transit agency has said it is committed to fixing the situation on a permanent basis, eventually.
