TransLink Compass bands sell out
TransLink’s Compass wristbands have sold out.
A limited supply of 1,000 blue adult wristbands and 1,000 orange concession wristbands were made available Monday and were sold out by 8:30 a.m. The wristbands require a $6 refundable deposit, similar to Compass cards.
The transit authority said in a Twitter update that it had ordered another shipment of the wristbands, expected to arrive in February. In a photo shared online, a crowd of people can be seen lined up on Beatty Street at TransLink’s Compass Customer Service Centre at the Stadium-Chinatown Station, waiting to buy a wristband Monday morning. Wristbands were also being sold at the West Coast Express office at Waterfront Station.
Owen Richardson was at Waterfront Station on Monday at 6:45 a.m. with her boyfriend, who hoped to get a wristband. She estimated there were about 100 people lined up.
Richardson said her boyfriend is a student in White Rock and regularly takes transit, so the wristband is helpful when he has his arms full with books and his school bag. She planned to wait until the next shipment arrived before getting a wristband herself, as she isn’t currently taking transit regularly.
A limit of four wristbands per person was implemented, though TransLink indicated they initially had plans to lower the limit to two per person as stock diminished.
The wristband is TransLink’s first wearable payment option, allowing transit users to load passes or fares onto the wristband instead of a Compass card.