The next phase of the so-far plagued Compass Card rollout is underway.
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Starting this month Compass Vending Machines (CVMs) will be activated throughout Skytrain and SeaBus terminals, making single-use Compass tickets available. By the end of October the machines will also stock Compass Cards. By November, Compass Cards will be available through retail stores, walk-in centres and by snail-mail (order online or phone).
To coincide with the CVMs rollout, starting October 5th, all buses and HandyDarts will have one-zone fares. Bus-only passengers will only be required to tap “on” and not “off” when using buses. Currently one-zone fares are $2.75 for adults and $1.75 for concession. Fare-zone rates will stay in effect for other modes of transit: West Coast Express, SeaBus and SkyTrain.
The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation says bus usage could surge as people opt out of SkyTrain to take advantage of the elimination of fare zones on buses.
The last Compass Timeline expected approximately 222,000 customers would be tapping their cards by September 2015, but the latest numbers suggest only around 130,000 TransLink customers have made the switch to Compass.
Written by Amar Mirchandani @amarmirch
Image via Translink