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November 18, 2015 - Backgrounder

Compass Backgrounder

Launch of Compass to TransLink customers is well underway. Each day more people are realizing the benefits of Compass.

What transit customers need to know about what’s next for Compass:

  • December 2015 is the last month to buy and use a paper Monthly Pass (FareCard).
  • For January, customers who want to travel with a Monthly Pass need to get a Compass Card and load a pass.
  • Customers can get a Compass Card today – December monthly passes can be loaded online starting November 16 and at Compass Vending Machines starting November 20.
  • With a Monthly Pass on a Compass Card, customers will have the added convenience of not specifying their zone(s) of travel, like they do today. So a two-zone Monthly Pass on Compass is valid for travel across any two zones.

Tapping with Compass

  • All Compass customers are reminded to tap in and tap out on rail and SeaBus to ensure they are charged the correct fare.
  • Tap in only on buses.
  • Not tapping out could result in additional charges or an “insufficient fare” message on the next trip.
    • The system reserves a three-zone fare on tapping in, even for a one- or two-zone Monthly Pass. On tap out, the system calculates the correct fare and credits the difference back onto the card. Not tapping out means the credit isn’t applied.
    • For someone with a one- or two-zone Monthly Pass on their Compass Card, the system dips into the $6 deposit or Stored Value to pay for the additional fare. Customers need to top-up their card before starting their next trip or they won’t be able to tap in.
    • On November 21, additional gates will close at most Expo and Millennium Line stations as part of our program and phased approach to educate and give customers plenty of time to get accustomed to using the gates.

Compass by the numbers:

  • More than 300,000 customers now have a Compass Card. This will grow to about 500,000 in the coming months.
  • More than 100,000 unique cards are in use each day.
  • 29,000 people loaded their Compass card with a monthly pass in November. This will grow to more than 100,000 by January 2016.
  • In October more than 11.5 million Compass taps were registered.
  • About 70 per cent of customers are tapping out on SkyTrain.

For more information: