METRO VANCOUVER -- Some fare gates will go into operation at SkyTrain and Canada Line stations in Metro Vancouver next week as TransLink tests the Compass card system as part of its rollout to the public.

TransLink’s acting CEO Cathy McLay said one gate at each station will be closed, starting Oct. 5, with more put into operation as passengers become comfortable using the Compass card.

At the moment, all the gates remain open and not in use.

“We will be testing the fare gates. Some gates will be closed. This is not a mechanical error, they’re not broken,” McLay said.

It’s not yet known when all the fare gates will be in operation, but McLay said it will likely be early next year, when TransLink stops using paper tickets, including Faresaver books. The gate closures will allow passengers to use their Compass Cards and tickets to test the gates.

“The gate closures will be tied to how fast the adoption rate of the Compass card is,” McLay said. “We can’t close the last gate in the station until we stop using the old fare media.”

Compass cards are already in the hands of 250,000 passengers including students, WestCoast Express passengers and TransLink employees. TransLink expects up to 800,000 people will eventually have a Compass card, which will allow riders to load monthly passes, single fares or a prepaid balance that will be detected as they pass through fare gates installed across the SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express system.

The $194.7-million fare gate and electronic smart card system, which was designed by Cubic Transportation Systems, has been plagued by problems, including recurring issues with the speed and reliability of card readers on buses. In some cases, bus validators did not register a tap out, which meant some passengers would been charged a three-zone fare when they may have only travelled one zone. TransLink also worried passengers could tap out early and stay on the bus, thus not paying for a whole trip.

The one-zone fare for buses is expected to make it easier for Compass users, who will only have tap into the card reader when they board a bus and not when they leave it. Passengers will still have to tap out on the rest of the transit system to ensure their Compass cards accurately calculate the number of zones travelled across. Those who don’t tap out after travelling on SkyTrain or SeaBus will automatically be charged a three-zone fare. A one zone fare — say around Vancouver — is $2.75, while a two-zone fare from Vancouver to Burnaby, for example, is $4 and a three-zone fare from Vancouver to Surrey is $5.50.

The fare gate and smart card system, which is over budget and two years behind schedule, had been ordered by the Liberal government in a bid to reduce fare evasion on the SkyTrain lines, but has also been touted by TransLink as a way to get near real-time data to improve service delivery and long-term transit planning.

User’s guide to Compass card start-up:

Zones

Effective on Monday, passengers can travel anywhere on one or more buses (or by HandyDart) by paying only a one-zone fare.

However, people will still have to pay for any additional zones they travel on SkyTrain or SeaBus. For instance, a passenger who travels from Surrey to Vancouver using bus and SkyTrain would pay for three zones. The Compass card will deduct the three-zone fare once they tap out at the fare gate at the end of the journey.

If a passenger remains within a single zone, say in Vancouver, however, and uses both bus and SkyTrain, they will be charged for only one zone as long as they are travelling within a 90-minute fare window.

Where to buy cards

Compass Cards will be rolled out to ticket vending machines in SkyTrain stations in phases this month, with full access through stations and retailers by Nov. 1. The cards can also be bought online at compasscard.ca, by phone, or at the Compass service centre at Stadium-Chinatown Station. The cards cost $6, which is considered a “refundable deposit” that can be used in a pinch if there isn’t enough money on the card to complete a journey. Compass can be loaded with single fares, day passes, monthly passes or “stored value,” which deducts fares every time the cards are scanned on a bus or at fare gates at the end of the trip. The stored value on the card replaces the FareSaver tickets and will automatically deduct fares at the FareSaver rate. Passengers who no longer need the card can return it for refund of the deposit.

Fare cards

The Compass cards can be loaded with any type of fare payment that is used today. For instance, passengers can load the Compass card with a monthly pass and use it the same way they do today. Concession cards for children, youth and seniors are also available but will be orange to distinguish them from the regular Compass, which is blue. Occasional riders or visitors who want to take single trips or DayPasses will get a white ticket when they purchase a Compass ticket from the machine.

Registering a card

TransLink says no personal customer information — such as name, credit card or banking identity — will stored on the electronic chip of the Compass card, which only identifies the product or value on the card, as well as the card’s serial number and status. However, passengers have the option to register their cards with TransLink with their name for “balance protection,” so that if their card is lost or stolen, the card the balance will be “frozen” and transferred to a new card.

Tap in, tap out

When passengers tap into a card reader — on buses, at fare gates to SkyTrain and SeaBus and validator at West Coast Express stations — the system will automatically determine if there is enough money on the card for the longest possible trip, say one zone for a bus and up to three zones for SkyTrain. If there’s a shortfall, the $6 refundable deposit on the card can be used to complete a trip but will have to be replenished later. When the passenger taps out at the end of the trip on SeaBus, SkyTrain or West Coast Express, the card calculates how far the passenger has travelled and charges them accordingly.

Paying cash

Cash will still accepted on buses, but those who do so will have to pay the full fare and will not be able to use those tickets to transfer to rail or SeaBus. This means they may have to pay twice for the trip if it involves transferring from a bus to another form of transit.

Faresaver tickets

TransLink said FareSaver fares, which provide the public with a discounted price such as reducing a one-zone adult ticket to $2.10, will be available to Compass card users who “store value” — keep a small amount of money — on their card.

Paper Faresaver tickets will continue to be used on buses and SkyTrain until TransLink starts operating all fare gates, likely early next year.

“Our intent is we will start limiting sales of old fare media once we roll out Compass,” acting TransLink CEO Cathy McLay said. “No customers will lose the value on their FareSaver cards.”

Any trips taken using the Compass card will be at the Faresaver rate. Those with FareSaver paper tickets can convert them to their Compass cards before the fare gates are all turned on for good. At that time, the FareSaver tickets will be phased out on all transit, including buses.

McLay said recent complaints by people unable to find FareSavers on sale was related to a problem with the supplier and TransLink has gotten large shipments in recent days.

Fare evasion

TransLink noted that while only some of the faregates will be in operation over the next few months, Transit police, security and SkyTrain attendants will be equipped with scanners to check that Compass cards have tapped in. Those caught without a valid Compass card or other proof they have paid their fare face a $173 fine.

ksinoski@vancouversun.com

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