Yesterday was a milestone day for us:  we passed 150,000 taps since the start of Beta testing! Way to go! Our stats are also showing that more testers are remembering to tap out at the end of the trip—about 80% of you.

What I’ve been up to

Yesterday, I went on a bit of a field trip to help with some more dry runs in preparation for next week’s invite-only tests.

I got to try out the automated phone system to hear what customers will experience when they call in. While you’ll be able to speak to a customer service representative to help ask questions, you can also use the system to do things like hear your last few transactions, get your balance, register your card, and set up AutoLoad.

Since I’m hearing impaired, I was curious to find out if I would be able to understand the voice on the automated part of the system or if it would be a challenge. I was relieved to find out that, even on speakerphone, the voice was clear, crisp, and spoke at a good speed for me to be able to understand.

Interested in trying the system out yourself? Emails will be sent to a small group of random testers to see who’s interested in joining us, so be sure to watch your mailbox.

Tester tip: West Coast Express customers: when arriving at Waterfront Station in the morning, you only have to tap out at the fare gate when exiting. On your way home in the evening, you’ll have to make one extra tap at the Waterfront Station Validators. This extra tap tells the system you’re boarding WCE. Just remember; two taps in the a.m., and three in the p.m..

Compass fact: The Compass Card will replace over 150 types of fare media currently in use today!