So I still had $100 of “play cash” on my orange concession Compass Card. The monthly pass expired on October 1st. So I’ve been slowly using up the “cash.” A few more observations from this past week.
- The bus card readers and the SkyTrain gate card readers are different. The SkyTrain gates seem to read the cards quite easily and robustly. I can hold my card at an angle at the SkyTrain gate and get the tap in easily. The bus readers seem more finicky. I have to hold the card flat to the reader for at least a full second or so before it reads.
- These finicky bus card readers may be a huge problem with the 99 B-Line. The giant crush of the B-Line queue will prove problematic. I already feel the pressure to get on and off the back doors without tapping a card. With the need to tap cards will be really tricky. Yesterday, I was tapping out and I think I tapped out, but I couldn’t hold up everyone behind me trying to get off the bus. Again, I think we need Compass Validator machines at 99 B-Line stops to speed the queue up.
- I’m a bit concerned about my cash balance being correct. I wonder if TransLink will have a way for card users to access their transactions in order to track the card balance. There was once or twice that I think I should have more money on my balance.
metro babel 