Hot Tip: Here’s How to Get a Refund On That March Bus Pass You Barely Used

My two-zone transit pass has been sitting virtually untouched on my Compass card since March 10 when I popped on my mask and took the #17 downtown to get tested for Coronavirus (I’ve gotten the all-clear since, thanks for asking). As if it wasn’t painful enough to cough up $126 each month for the privilege of commuting to Burnaby, I was now looking at most of that money wasted. Of course I’m sitting here feeling grateful for my health and knowing that people out there in the world have bigger problems to deal with right now, but it still kind of stings to know I could’ve had an extra hundred bucks in my pocket to spend on woe-is-me sushi deliveries during my quarantine days.

But yesterday I got some more good news: Translink is very sympathetic to this sudden and strange new non-commuting situation, and is offering to translate any unused monthly pass value into stored value. I spent about 15 minutes on hold on the Compass help line and a very kind customer service agent deducted my total number of trips actually taken in March from the total, and moved the remaining balance to be used whenever we’re allowed out of the house again. (Also, this is probably a good time to cancel your auto-load, too, if you’ve got that set-up!)

Now I’ve got $85 I didn’t think I’d see again loaded on my little blue card, and I never thought I’d say this but: can’t wait to commute again soon.

Compass customer service contact information here.