PPE machine considered a first
We're used to buying snacks and drinks from vending machines and a local entrepreneur hopes people will become just as accustomed to buying a face mask or sanitizer that way.
What is likely the first vending machine in B.C. that sells products designed to protect against the spread of COVID-19 has been installed at Waterfront Station, said Edvin Muminovic, who owns the machine.
The automatic kiosk will vend masks, face shields, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes in cashless-card or phones-only transactions.
They'll range in price from $2 for a disposable mask to $12.50 for a reusable cloth mask with a filter, which Muminovic described as competitive retail prices.
“This is a convenient way to purchase masks if you're about to go on to TransLink or if you just want to buy a new mask and mix it up,” Muminovic said.
In the five days since the machine was installed, he said, sales have been growing but “it's not as busy as it should be. Traffic is a little bit slow.”
He said his research shows that before COVID-19 about 20,000 people passed through the commuting hub, which allows access to two SkyTrain lines, the SeaBus and buses and is the site of a number of restaurants or coffee shops and a newsstand.
“But now because more people are working from home because of COVID, there's maybe 3,000 or 4,000,” he said.
Muminovic leased the space from landlord Cadillac Fairview and has plans this week to install a second machine at the Pacific Centre's Dunsmuir Street entrance.
He would like to install more but said other malls, which he didn't want to name, turned down his request. He said he would like to eventually see one at every SkyTrain station, at B.C. Ferries ter
minals, and university and college campuses for when they reopen. He said he expects people to con
tinue to need masks for a year or two, even after vaccines are rolled out provincewide.