TransLink offers a solution for disabled people going through fare gates

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You have just over a month before fare gates on public transit will all be closed and you’ll need to tap in and out with a Compass Card. TransLink says it has found a way for people who don’t have use of their arms to access the system.

TransLink will be closing the gates starting April 4th and finishing by April 8th. The disabled will have to call an attendant to open and close the gate for them.

Jennifer Morland with TransLink is confident someone will be available to help at all times. “We already have additional staff that are out on the system that are helping our customers with the rollout of Compass and we’ll ensure that we have enough staff to have somebody available.”

Any costs associated will be rolled into the operating budget.

Both disability advocates and TransLink hope for a better solution down the road. Executive Director for Disability Alliance BC Jane Dyson says the solution is not ideal. “Our hope is that TransLink and the community can come up with a few different solutions to assist people with disabilities and seniors who are unable to tap. Those solutions could include a technological solution such as a proximity reader so that something could be attached to somebody’s wheelchair or scooter to open the gate… There isn’t one solution that’s going to work for everybody.”