TransLink using data from 1-million Compass Cards to improve service
Vancouver, BC, Canada / News Talk 980 CKNW | Vancouver’s News. Vancouver’s TalkPosted: May 15, 2017
TransLink says data from the one-million Compass Cards will help them adjust service to better meet commutersai??i?? needs.
Spokesperson Jill Drews says data has always been collected over the years, but says the card has helped increase the amount of information available.
ai???So planners before would use things like census data and we did a trip diary survey every few years to find out how customers used the system, but now with Compass, weai??i??re able to see what all of our customers are doing and target service where itai??i??s needed to make the system more efficient.ai???
She says they are hoping to see if more customers use a particular route versus other options.
ai???We could also see if the demand is exceeding the capacity and maybe increase service or propose new route space.ai???
But she says they are respecting passengersai??i?? privacy.
ai???All of the procedures that we use for the compass program adhere to the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.ai???
Drews says 95 per cent of trips on the transit system right now involve a compass product.
Looks like TransLink barely averted the imminent derailment of the c-line, one more time. It’s just a matter of time.
“A mechanical issue that caused a delay to Canada Line between Oakridge and Bridgeport Stations has been resolved as of 2 p.m. PT. TransLink says they have placed additional security and Transit Police at the stations to ensure passenger safety and crowd control.”
Crowd control? Was there a riot? Was it serious? What happened? TransLink isn’t forthcoming with too many details, as usual.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-line-service-disruption-between-oakridge-and-bridgeport-stations-resolved-1.4124286
More spin from the propagandists at TransLink on Compass? Can’t they just drop it and admit that they awarded the $200 million for Compass to a crony?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/compass-card-fare-gate-timeline-1.3475613
Compass is obsolete, and the $200 million flushed down the loo on Compass has just added more “employees” to TransLink’s bloated bureaucracy to “administer” Compass. Smart phones can do what Compass does for free, and users taking transit can tap in and out with smart phones like they do at the grocery store. How can the “spendthrifts” at TransLink justify the annual $12 million “administration” fee for Compass when they can switch to smart phones for free? What’s taking “TransLink” so long to get with it?
“MARCH 16, 2016 — 8:00AM: Metro Transit riders [who don’t live in Vancouver] soon will be able to pay their fares with their smartphones… This will be a game changer,” said Adam Mehl … The electronic payment feature, which can be used on bus, light-rail and commuter rail lines, could speed boarding by 3 to 6 seconds per passenger and help cut costs”.
http://www.startribune.com/new-metro-transit-app-will-allow-riders-to-pay-by-phone/372205851/
“NOVEMBER 3, 2016 — 9:59PM”: a few months later, and people who don’t use transit in Vancouver are using smartphones and cutting costs for public transit. There that was easy and saved, uh, $200 million, the un-TransLink way.
http://www.startribune.com/new-metro-transit-app-allows-paying-fares-with-smartphones/399827841/