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

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!

Compass buttons and stickers handed out this morning
Transit user Felisia Fullerton picks up some Compass swag at Waterfront Station.
TransLink staffer Harmeet handing out Compass stuff at Metrotown Station!
Coast Mountain Bus staffer Jennifer hands out Compass stuff at Metrotown bus loop.
Waiting for the crowds at Commercial Broadway!
Handing off a Compass pass holder to a customer at Commercial-Broadway Station.
A close up of the Compass buttons and pass holders.
Handing out stuff at Marine Drive Station!
And just for fun---the communications staff on the smartcard project took the giant smartcard back to their office on the SkyTrain. Ha!
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