The Compass Card Fiasco – Another BC Liberal Boondoggle – Where is the Mainstream Media?
The Compass Card boondoggle is akin to the NDP’s bungled FastFerry program, but where is the mainstream media; where are the so called pundits tut-tutting this fiasco?
The Compass Card and fare gate program was orchestrated by the BC Liberals and Liberal government friendly media to cure the fictitious problem of ‘massive’ fare evasion.
Yes, there is fare evasion on TransLink, but from all accounts it fell within industry norms and transit authority treated fare evasion as a nuisance.
Former Premier Campbell’s best buddy and former Vancouver City manager, “Shreddin Ken” Dobell, was acting as a lobbyist for Cubitt Industries, makers of fare gates and fare cards, and what “Shreddin Ken” wanted, Gordon Campbell made sure “Shreddin Ken” got.
Thus the fare evasion myth was created with everyone bemoaningAi?? the nuisance, but the mainstream media continued their propaganda campaign so much that the public demanded fare gates and the Compass Card.
The insult to the taxpayer is now apparent, the Compass Card, unwanted by TransLink, is doomed to fail. For added insult, it now seems that the Compass Card, fare gate operation will cost about 50% more to operate than what was lost due to fare evasion.
BC Liberal economics at work!
A rare thank you to CKNW Radio for reporting on this boondoggle.
Former TransLink insider says Compass Card program destined to fail
Vancouver, BC, Canada / (CKNW AM) AM980
As the operators of Metro Vancouverai??i??s transit services continue to defend the regionai??i??s troubled Compass card program, a former SkyTrain insider predicts it will failai??i?? if major improvements are not made.
ai???The main problem was the choke points of fare gates on the passenger flow.ai???
George Slade, who was an IT manager from 2008 to 2010, says Translink executives had good reason for being skeptical when they were told smart cards would be introduced.
ai???A zone fare system doesnai??i??t work with smart cards period. Itai??i??s assuming that everybody is going to behave perfectly. People do simply forget to tap off and then, they get charged for a full day.ai???
He says, when he reported five years ago London, Englandai??i??s now-cancelled similar system would fail, he was accused of not being a ai???team player,ai??i?? but since then two subsequent managers have complained Compass will never work.
ai???When the politicians basically dictate that something is going to happen, anything contrary to what the politicians say is considered not team play.ai???
CKNW has reached out for comment from TransLink officials, but they have declined.
There is more of a problem with Compass than the fare gate choke points. All the feckless government deadbeats at TransLink need to be shown the door and replaced with 10 good engineers working for Metro Vancouver. Scrap TransLink and its bureaucracy fleecing taxpayers.
Compass won’t work with the FTN service. Right now, it is a free-for-all on the 99 B-Line. If everyone is forced to tap in and out, the 99 B-Line will grind to a halt. Nitwits at TransLink really have no clue. They just cost us money.
In London that was a hard thing to get use too was having to use your pass or ticket twice, (the current Oyster Cards were not in service yet)once when you used your ticket or pass to enter the system and then having to remember after a lifetime of not having to do this in Canada, get the same ticket or pass and check out of the transit system.
Ontario’s province wide Presto Card system had some big technical hick ups when it was being introduced here in Ottawa. Mainly due to the fact that, we didn’t get the tried and tested Presto 1.0 System like most of the small municipal transit agencies around Toronto, we got Presto System 2.0 and it took 2 years to get all the bugs out. The TTC screamed that it would not use the Presto 2.0 System unless OC Transpo could get it to work. Lucky us we got to be the test case! OC Transpo screamed at Metrolinx and the province to get this thing to work or rip it out. It was the first time I actually saw our mayor show backbone to his former provincial friends and he actually screamed at them, “we are not paying for this S*** system unless it works, now get it done!” The province and Metrolinx finally got it to work.The improved Presto system has been working now for about a year and a half here but we don’t have to tap out of the bus like your Compass Card, we just tap into each new vehicle we enter on our trip to where we are going. The TTC in Toronto is now slowly adopting Presto 2.0 but they are still complaining about the $600 Million cost that the TTC had to pay for it. Fitting multiple Presto readers to 2000+ buses and streetcars all those servers into bus garages as well as retrofitting 69 subway stations, with every station needing 2 dozen units each plus the actual computers system itself, its not cheap for big transit services to add these new cashless fare control systems. The TTC will be the first transit agency in Ontario that allow you to use your smartphone with a Presto App to enter the bus, streetcar, LRT or Subway. Go Transit will follow soon after.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, the compass program should be an all access season’s pass available for a lump-sum cost.
What we have now is an inconvenient and glorified Timmy’s card.