The Compass Card is Here!

As a selected beta tester for the new Compass Card, I am very excited to have the chance to use the card.  And here it is!  It just arrived in the mail yesterday.

Apparently, I’ve received the Concession version of the Compass Card.  The back of the card says:

This card may only be used by children 5-13 years, Secondary Students 14-19 years possessing a valid GoCard. Seniors 65 years or over with proof of age, or as otherwise permitted under the Transit Tariff.

I definitely don’t fall in that category anymore, but it’s simply to test the card.  I don’t think I’ve had a GoCard for almost 20 years now.  Haha.

I highly recommend that everyone get a Compass Card when it becomes available to the public.  All regular riders and part-time riders.  If you’re like me, a regular rider who regularly buys the monthly pass, then the card will save you from having to buy the silly paper monthly passes.  I can load a monthly pass on my card and have unlimited travel for my zone.  The cards should save TransLink some money in printing, but then they’ll lose the advertising space on the monthly passes.

For part-time riders, you should still get the card.  Load the card with a minimal cash amount that would cover you for a few transit rides.  Carry the card and use when needed.  It sure beats trying to dig out your FareSavers from the drawer.  I know I buy FareSavers and forget where I put them.  That’s money wasted sitting in my drawers.  They will eventually become part of my transit memorabilia, if I ever find them.  With the Compass Card, you can decide to load as much as you’d like.  You don’t have to pay $21 for 10 rides.  You could put in $10 and then just use it as needed. The only drawback that I’ve read about is that you get a 20% discount with FareSavers, but you will only get a 14% discount with rides.

Anyway, come September 9th, you’ll see a lot of people tapping on and tapping off of buses.  I even spotted somebody carrying their Compass Beta Card when they showed their monthly pass today.  More to come.