West Coast Express users hoping to get their hands on an electronic Compass card next month will now have to wait until next spring — with blind passengers and TransLink now first in line.

TransLink delayed the Compass card distribution to the West Coast Express users after facing problems with its online registration system, with which they can manage their cards and fare products, said Mike Madill, TransLink’s vice-president of enterprise initiatives.

“We need to do some improvement on that,” he said. “It was functional but just not up to our standard. We needed that to be easy to use and friendly. It works but it just isn’t up to what we expect.”

This is the latest in a string of delays for the Compass card and fare gate program, which was originally slated to start operating this fall but was pushed back to 2014. The program, which was originally estimated at $171.3 million, is now expected to cost about $23 million more.

West Coast Express passengers, most of whom are monthly pass holders, will be able to buy 28-day pass and seven-day passes as well as FareSaver tickets until next spring.

Madill said TransLink still plans to roll out the electronic Compass cards to more than 80,000 customers in January, including holders of BC Bus Pass and CNIB pass users. TransLink staff and operating company employees will also get their cards early next year.

TransLink is also finalizing plans with universities to have a limited group of U-Pass holders ready to test the cards early in the new year.

The phased approach in rolling out the program is to ensure everything runs smoothly and to avoid overloading the system on the first day, Madill said.

“We want to make sure we get it right for our customers,” he said.

TransLink conducted beta testing in September, in which almost 10,000 people were issued a Compass card, to identify glitches. TransLink hopes to make things easier with a communications strategy that will put a strong emphasis on social media. An interactive website, Compass.ca, will be launched this month to give and receive feedback from transit users.

ksinoski@vancouversun.com