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Vancouver considering name for new transit cards
1 Nov 2010

Metro Vancouver has asked the public to help it think up a name for its new transit cards to rival the Octopus cards used in Hong Kong and the sQuid and Oyster cards used in the UK.

According to the Vancouver Sun, citizens can submit ideas over the next week - whether they are marine-based, like those above, Grizzly or to do with anything else associated with the Canadian city.

Drew Snider, a spokesperson for TransLink, told the newspaper that more than 25,000 names have already been submitted to the contest, which will run until November 8th.

The winner will not only receive an iPad, but also be issued with the first of the new transit cards when they go live in 2013, in addition to a year's worth of free travel.

"All entries will be reviewed by a TransLink panel and five names will be will tested by focus groups and the on-line 'TransLink Listens' panel," the newspaper explained.

The new transit cards will replace all existing cards and tickets currently in use on the Vancouver Metro, with passengers able to load emoney onto their cards then pay for trips by tapping them on special readers.