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!