Translink recently announced that the official rollout of the new compass card system is to be further delayed due to speed and reliability issues, with no firm date in sight.

There are already 85,000 cards in circulation and the system just received its 25 millionth tap, but since the system is being introduced in phases of consumer groups, it is not yet available to the entire public.

The compass card is designed to be convenient and easy for transit users on the go, requiring only a quick tap in and out. However, some card-users have experienced trouble with delayed card reading and failure to tap in or out. Card readers are reported to have an eight to 10 per cent error rate.

Translink’s director of operational initiatives, Mark Langmead, stressed the importance of ensuring the desired level of speed and reliability before introducing the card to the next group: The compass card’s ideal scan time should be under half a second, he said. Translink is in the process of improving its mobile validators to meet this standard before the next phase.

For the next phase, Langmead said that Translink plans to provide cards to people who use the West Coast Express and then to U-pass holders after that. “We’ve committed to providing an update in October. At that point we’re going to be advising the timing for the next customer group.

“We’ll know better [then] as to the exact timeframe in [which] U-pass customers will be receiving cards or able to get cards,” he explained.

Langmead assured The Peak that the transition will not come without notice. Translink aims “to make sure that we have a good communications plan, we [will] provide lots of notice for people who are about to be able to receive the card, and we [will] give all the information about how to use the card. So, we’ll certainly give a lot of notice ahead of introducing the card for the U-pass.”

He also mentioned some of the anticipated features of the card, such as the capability to load the card via the Internet. “You can do it while you’re sitting in a lecture, or you can do it while you’re sitting at a bus stop. It just makes it a lot easier to facilitate your getting a fare product,” said Langmead.

Other attractive features include a security element. “If you lose your card, you’re able to — if you’ve registered your card — have balance protection, where the card balance can be transferred to another card.”

The card is also equipped for auto-loading. If the balance dips below a threshold set by the cardholder, it will automatically load itself.

Langmead concluded, “We’re really excited to be offering this product and we’re confident that students will really appreciate the benefits of it.”