Article content

Almost a year into the launch of TransLink’s Compass fare system, card and ticket purchases at SkyTrain stations account for 95 per cent of transactions on transit, TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said Wednesday.

“The Compass program here really needs to be viewed as a big success,” Desmond said during an editorial board meeting with the Vancouver Sun and The Province — even with a history fraught with delays, technical glitches and cost overruns.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or TransLink CEO hails Compass card as 'big success', with rising revenue and ridership Back to video

He compared TransLink’s experience with Compass with the Metro Seattle ORCA Card, which only accounts for 68 per cent of transactions across its member transit systems six years after the card was launched.

TransLink now has more than one million Compass cards in active use in a region with a population of 2.5 million.

“Those numbers are astonishing,” Desmond said.

Since closing all fare gates at SkyTrain and Canada Line stations in early April, TransLink fare revenue is up eight to nine per cent, Desmond said, which he attributes to a combination of reduced fare evasion and a two-per-cent increase in ridership.