I am a semi-frequent user of HandyDart. The service has its problems but overall does a good job of getting me to and from hospital appointments that would be difficult for me to get to otherwise. I have found the staff, drivers and telephone operators, invariably helpful and courteous. It is also a welcome relief to have the fares reduced under the program that began this month.
I also have a senior’s concessionary Compass Pass which allows me to travel anywhere on the Translink system for an incredibly reasonable $45 a year and I was glad to learn that one can now use Compass to access HandyDart. However, for reasons that I cannot figure, HandyDart users will be obliged to use a different orange Compass card for HandyDart service.
While not understanding the reasons for the additional complexity, I was willing to go to the website to apply for the extra card. That was when things became difficult.
Being a trained accountant and highly computer literate, I am used to filling in forms online but I am damned if I could figure this one out. I registered my original Compass card as requested and paid in $20 to my account. But then the system failed me as I could not work out — no matter how I tried — how to get them to send me the new orange card. I probably spent thirty minutes struggling with it.
Finally I gave up and wrote them an email explaining the difficult I was having. A few days later, today, I received a reply that laid out a complicated three-step process involving multiple websites that I am still trying to unravel.
I will get through this eventually but it occurs to me that for many seniors this will be a daunting experience and I suspect many will simply give up and will be reduced to scrabbling for the correct cash when their rides arrive.
If being able to swipe a Compass card on HandyDart is supposed to make things easier for us, so far it has failed before it even begins.
Jak's View of Vancouver v.3 
My experience in the past is that when I was confronted with difficulties similar to the one you’re experiencing – but not exactly the same – I just called the available 1-800 number to speak with one of the good folks responsible for making sure the programme works, and almost inevitably, the person with whom I spoke resolved the problem, in a surprisingly short period of time.
Should you go down this “contact the appropriate government folks” road – that may or may not prove the resolution to your present difficulties – I wish you well in finding resolution to the present dilemma. And, yep, I am also thrilled with the $45 annual Seniors Compass card (altho that has for some while been considered $579 taxable income when filling out your tax return each spring … alas).
Thanks Ray. I called the Help line and was given a list f choices that didn;t help at all. That’s why I emailed them. I’ll keep trying.
Go right down to Stadium Station Translink Customer Service where you deal with Staff & they can work it out instead of struggling with computer on your own