The Compass Card system is facing another delay, another technical glitch. TransLink is working on it, of course.
TransLink has been working on perfecting their not-quite-ready-for-prime-time system for well over a year. In fact, the Compass Card system was a year overdue as of this past summer. The cards have difficulty “tapping out” of buses, which could mean being charged for a three-zone ride after taking the bus a mere mile.
At the province’s behest, money has been poured into fare gates for the Canada Line and on a card system that seems to be broken, while new bus routes are few and far between.
There is no new money, we are told again and again. Meanwhile, the population grows, the need expands, and people continue to wait for the bus that doesn’t come.
There could have been a referendum on TransLink funding as of this Nov. 15, with the civic elections. That was pushed off to 2015, too.
We still don’t know what the question will be for this future vote.
Meanwhile, the vote only serves to distract attention from the fact that the province has no interest whatsoever in helping put more people on buses. TransLink, for all its real and perceived faults, cannot raise more money without Victoria giving it new powers, or without raising property taxes, a move no one particularly wants.
So here we sit, winter coming in, the days getting darker, the weather wetter. And all the transit users and would-be transit users have to stand and fume, like people stuck in the rain waiting for a bus that’s always late.
