Congrats to Oleksiy Gayda: winner of our fare card naming contest!

Bus operator Anthony Crann, TransLink VP Mike Madill, name contest winner Oleksiy Gayda and SkyTrain’s Colleen Milek show off the new card on Thursday, March 31, 2011!

Oleksiy Gayda, winner of the naming contest!

A big congratulations to Oleksiy Gayda from Burnaby, who submitted the name Compass for the new electronic fare card!

Seventy-two people actually submitted the name Compass to the contest, and Oleksiy’s name was randomly drawn to win the prize of an iPad and a pass loaded with a year of transit, once the smartcard system is operational in 2013.

Oleksiy has lived in Vancouver since moving here over 10 years ago, and he’s a regular transit rider, since he doesn’t own a car!

For the contest, he submitted two or three names, including Compass.

“With Compass, I was thinking of a word that could mean something more, like a commuter or community pass, shortened to Compass,” he said.

And in fact, Oleksiy said he’d forgotten about the contest until he got the call a few days ago saying he’d won. It was a real shock.

“This is the first time I’ve ever won a contest,” Oleksiy said. “So this is a great experience, and a great prize.”

Again, feel free to share your thoughts on the name and the new card in the comments: and for more on the smartcard project, check the main smartcard project page, or the past Buzzer blog smartcard posts.

And scroll on down for more pictures of the name launch today!

Read more »

Compass: the winning name of TransLink’s electronic fare card

Compass: our new electronic fare card

As many of you may know by now: Compass is the name of our electronic fare card, which will debut in 2013!

That’s right—after 10,000 votes on the three final names for our smartcard, over 40% of the vote went to the name Compass. Staff have been out at major transit exchanges all across the region this morning, handing out Compass pass holders and more to announce the new name.

The contest’s winner—drawn from all those who submitted “Compass” to our contest in fall 2010—will be announced later this morning, so I’ll have that info for you up in a bit. Edit: Here’s the post about the winner, Oleksiy Gayda!

But for now: feel free to share what you think of the new name et al in the comments. And as always, for more on the smartcard project, see the main smartcard project page, or the past Buzzer blog smartcard posts.

Our smartcard name will be revealed on Thu Mar 31, 2011

You'll just tap your smartcard to validate come 2013.

Well, it’s almost here! The winning name (and the winner!) of the smartcard naming contest will be announced on the morning of Thursday, March 31, 2011.

Staff will be at stations and exchanges to share some swag and announce the new name. So keep an eye out on Thursday to find out the winner!

(For more about the smartcard project, check out the TransLink site or the Buzzer blog’s past smartcard posts.)

Last day to vote on the smartcard name, Friday January 28, 2011

A ticket vending machine on the Canada Line. In 2013, we'll be using electronic fare card instead!

Reminder: today, Friday, January 28, 2011, is your last day to vote on the smartcard name! The contest closes at midnight tonight.

If you haven’t voted yet, do it here: translink.ca/contest

The three names in the running again are Compass, Starfish, and Tpass.

Click here for the past blog posts on the smart card, and see the main TransLink smart card page for more info on the smart card project.

Smart card contest voting ends on Fri Jan 28, 2011

Smart card technology will replace our existing ticketing system in 2013.

Just a reminder that voting in the smart card contest ends on Friday, January 28, 2011.

If you haven’t voted yet, do so now at translink.ca/contest!

The three names in the running are Compass, Starfish, and Tpass.

Click here for the past blog posts on the smart card, and see the main TransLink smart card page for more info on the smart card project.

Smart card naming contest vote now open, January 14-28, 2011

Validating your ticket will just require a tap of the smartcard come 2013.

OK: voting is now live for the smart card contest finalists!

Visit translink.ca/contest to select your pick for the winning name. As mentioned previously, the poll will be open until Friday, January 28, 2011, and the winner and its brand identity will be announced in March. The actual smart card system is slated for launch in 2013.

Also, response has been tremendous in the last post about the final three names. Rest assured, I am passing on all your feedback to the project team! Please keep it coming: we really do want to know what you all think of our work, as we can’t improve without your notes.

Click here for the past blog posts on the smart card, and see the main TransLink smart card page for more info on the smart card project.

Smart card finalist names released: you decide the winner starting Friday, Jan 14, 2011!

Smartcards will eventually replace all forms of tickets and passes on our system.

As you may have heard already, we have released the three finalist names for our smart card, and we want you to decide on a winner starting Friday, January 14, 2011!

As you know, we’re working on a smart card project for launch in 2013, where you’ll load your transit fares onto a single card that you can use across the system, and track important trip and ridership data for better system planning.

The three shortlisted names are Starfish, Compass or TPass. So visit translink.ca/contest on Friday and weigh in on your favourites: the voting period will be open for two weeks after that, ending on Friday January 28, 2011.

The winning name will be announced at the end of March along with a brand identity for the new card. The contest winner will get an iPad and a smart card loaded with a year’s worth of transit, to be used on the system in 2013. (If more than one person submitted one of these names, we will do a draw from all of those people to get our winner. See the rules and regulations for more info.)

Here’s the press release we issued about the voting today: you can also check out articles from the Province and the Peace Arch News.

As well, here are the past blog posts on the smart card project, and the main TransLink page with more info about the project.

Smartcard contest update: public vote for the winning name in early 2011

Zoop: another announcement today. The smartcard contest will have a public vote for the winning name in early 2011.

The press release isn’t quite online yet so here it is reprinted below—it has more detail on the announcement.

Read more »

We’ve chosen a supplier for our smartcard and faregate system!

The Oyster Card and a tube map from the London UK transit system. Photo by amandabhslater on Flickr --- click the pic to go to the original!

This just in—after evaluating proposals submitted by three shortlisted suppliers, TransLink has chosen Cubic/IBM to design, build and operate our electronic smart card and faregate system!

Cubic/IBM has built a number of fare card systems around the world before, including London’s Oyster Card, San Francisco’s Clipper Card and Metro Atlanta’s Breeze Card. We’ve also worked with them on projects in the past.

Our project team will be finalizing the contract with Cubic/IBM in the New Year, and you can also look forward to the announcement of the name and design of our smartcard in January 2011.

Check out the TransLink website’s section on smartcards and faregates for updated info, including a new backgrounder on Cubic/IBM and the selection process. You can also see the Buzzer blog’s past posts on the smartcards and faregates project.

And here’s an excerpt from our press release:

TransLink has selected Cubic Transportation Systems with IBM Canada as the preferred proponent to design, build and operate the electronic smart card and faregate system, set to begin operations in the Metro Vancouver transit system by 2013.

TransLink’s new system is expected to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and security of the transit network by providing a convenient and seamless “one card” approach for customers to travel all modes of transit. As well faregates will provide a visual and physical deterrent to entering the system without payment. The new system will also accept contactless bank-issued cards for tourists, casual riders and others and will allow TransLink to collect important trip and ridership data to enable more coordinated system planning and deployment.

Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of Cubic Corporation, has demonstrated experience in successful delivery and service of large AFC (automatic fare collection) systems worldwide, including:

• London Prestige Project Oyster® Card System
• Metropolitan Atlanta Breeze® Card System
• Los Angeles Metro TAP™ Card System
• San Francisco Bay Area ClipperSM Card System
• Miami Dade County EASY® Card System
• Brisbane, Australia go Card System

IBM has been recognized by its customers and industry analysts across North America as being a leader in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Call Center services and solution marketplace. They have supplied systems and services in British Columbia since 1921.

The Cubic/IBM team was selected from a group of three pre-qualified companies, including Thales/Octopus International Projects and Serco/Parkeon who participated in the request for proposal process.

Farecard naming contest: last day to enter!

Get your suggestions into our contest! You’ve only got until midnight tonight, Monday November 8, to submit a name for our electronic fare card, coming in 2013.

Key things to remember:

• The winner gets an iPad and in 2013, an electronic fare card loaded with a year’s worth of transit
• You can enter as many times as you like!
• If you need contest inspiration, here’s a list of farecard names from other places, and the top 10 most entered names in our contest!
• The winning name will be selected in December 2010 by our board, and announced shortly thereafter. (For complete details on how the process works, see the rules and regulations.)

Don’t delay! Enter now!

(If you’re curious, btw, we have over 45,000 entries in the contest so far: but don’t let that stop you! That’s not every word in the dictionary by a long shot :)

Contest inspiration: the 10 most entered names in the contest so far

Our farecard naming contest closes at midnight next Monday, November 8, 2010, so make sure to get your names in! An iPad, plus a year of free transit in 2013 could be yours for the taking.

So far, there are 30,000 entries in the contest, but don’t let this faze you. As you have probably guessed, lots of people have entered the same names, and there’s plenty of room for more.

As well, to possibly help inspire you, I did a bit of wrangling with Excel and hashed out a rough list of the most entered names in the contest. In no particular order, they are:

• Green
• Salmon
• Coast
• Orca
• Whale
• Totem
• Otter
• Canuck
• Lobster
• Go

Lots of single word wonders! Well, hopefully this will help get those creative juices flowing. Go opposite, go bigger, go smaller, pick something slightly similar but not the same. Remember, you can enter as many times as you like, so all the names you come up with are fair game.

For more inspiration, check out this earlier post on farecard names in other places. And then of course, enter the contest!

Fun poll results: 76% have used an electronic fare card on another system

In last week’s fun poll, I asked whether you’d used an electronic fare card on another system before.

And after 164 votes, it turns out 76% of you have used an electronic fare card before! The remaining 24% hadn’t tried one out yet.

In the comments, Paul C and Andrew S were among the few who said they hadn’t used an electronic fare card elsewhere. But mostly, people talked about exactly what cards they had tried—lots had given Seattle’s ORCA a whirl, as well as Hong Kong’s Octopus card and London’s Oyster. And there were of course others! Here’s TK:

I’ve used Seattle’s Orca, Singapore’s EZ-Link, Bangkok skytrain/subway cards and Hong Kong’s Octopus. My favourite is the Octopus as I can use it to pay at McDonald’s and 7-11.

And Rob from CMBC had tried some South American cards!

I have used the Bip (pronounced beep) card for Santiago, Chile’s metro. I’ve also used one on the Valparaiso – Vina Del Mar metro, but, unfortunately, cannot remember its name.

A couple of comments even highlighted some of the little-known advantages of electronic farecards. Ryan pointed out that when travelling, you could use the balance on your electronic fare card again on subsequent trips.

Yes, I use my Oyster card when I travel to London. I’ve had it for a few years now and since I go back at least once a year, it is very handy to get around.

And ericmk‘s experience showed you didn’t even need to buy an electronic fare card necessarily, if you were just visiting.

I’ve used four- Washington DC’s SmarTrip, Seattle’s ORCA, Maryland’s CharmCard, and recently Toronto/Ottawa’s PRESTO card. However, I’ve only actually owned a SmarTrip and an ORCA card. The others I’ve borrowed from friends!

Thanks to everyone who took the poll! As always, check out the full list of comments to see what everyone thought. I’ll have a new question next week!

Contest inspiration: fare card names from other places

In the naming contest post from last week, Chris passed on this handy list of fare card names from other places! I took a look through the list and highlighted names with interesting backstories, in case they might inspire winning contest entries…

	Card	Place	Name explanation
	Oyster	London, UK	Chosen as a fresh approach, unrelated to transit. The word Oyster had connotations of security and value.
	Octopus	Hong Kong	Octopus references number 8 which is very lucky in Asian cultures. 8 also means “many” and “reaching everywhere.”
	Myki	Melbourne, Australia	Sounds like “my key” to represent having a key for a new lifestyle, and also makes the card a character (“Mikey”). (Explanation found here!)
	Clipper	San Francisco	Named after Clipper ships: the fastest mode of transportation during the Gold Rush. This card used to be called the TransLink card!
	CharlieCard	Boston, Massachusetts	The CharlieCard is named after a fictional character in a folk music song often called “Charlie on the MTA”, which concerns a man trapped forever on the Boston subway system (then known as the Metropolitan Transit Authority, or MTA) because he can’t pay the 5-cent surcharge required to leave the train.
	ORCA	Seattle	ORCA (“One Regional Card for All”) Card
	Suica	Tokyo (Japan Rail)	Stands for “Super Urban Intelligent Card”, and is also a pun on the Japanese word for watermelon. As well, Sui Sui means smooth and Ka is an abbreviation for card.
	Sugoca	Japan (Fukuoka prefecture)	The name is an acronym of “Smart Urban GOing CArd”, while sugoka (凄か?) in the local Kyūshū dialect means “great”.
	NicePass	Japan (Entetsu Railway)	The name is an acronym of New Intelligence Card of Entetsu Personal and Smart System.

From this I detect some general strategies:

• Pick a name of a sea creature with useful alternate meanings
• Pick a word not generally related to transit that gives the card some human features
• Acronyms: the more complex, the better.
• Puns, homonyms, and double meanings! The more the merrier!

Also, to be honest, my favourites are the non-acronym, non-punny, unrelated to transit names. Oyster! Myki! There’s something kind of bold about choosing a name like that and sticking with it. Enter the contest!

Friday fun poll: have you used an electronic fare card on another system?

A collection of smartcards! Photo by Joe Mazzolla.

Since we’re asking you to submit names for our future electronic fare card, here’s a fun poll about the cards!

The obvious follow-up question is “How many cards have you tried?” (My answer is one—I used the Oyster Card extensively in London in 2006!)

Contest: name our future electronic fare card!

Edit, 1:35 p.m.: added one of the promotional videos above! There’s a second video here too.

Starting today, Tuesday, October 12, 2010, you can enter our contest to name our future electronic fare card!

As you may know, TransLink is putting an electronic fare card system in place by 2013, similar to fare payment systems in London and Hong Kong. But tomorrow’s fare card needs a name today—so we’re asking you to put your thinking caps on and get involved!

Submit your suggestions through our online form or via text message (text CONTEST, your name, and your idea to 77777).

The winner gets an iPad, and in 2013, the winner will also receive an electronic fare card loaded with a year of free transit!

For more, check out the TransLink website to learn about electronic fare cards and the project timeline. And here’s the past Buzzer blog posts on the topic:

• Smartcard and faregates project moves another step forward
• Three companies shortlisted for our smartcards and faregates project
• Smartcards and faregates project moves one step forward