Throngs of Metro Vancouverites waited in sprawling lines for a fun new offering from the region's transit agency early Wednesday (Dec. 14) morning.
TransLink started selling a at 9 a.m. at Waterfront SkyTrain Station, after first announcing the new payment product on Tuesday evening.
The transportation agency released 3,000 blue adult Mini-Trains and 2,000 orange concession Mini-Trains for a $6 refundable deposit.
Despite having a limit of four per person, the pint-sized product sold out quickly. Customers lined up before TransLink started offering them, with the lineup wrapping around the front of the Downtown Vancouver transit hub.
I would have loved to get a keychain but look at the lineup posted on and there is only a few people wearing masks.
— Кутрина Шумук 🇺🇦🇨🇦🏳️🌈 (@ProzacKat)
Everyone really wants that compass keychain hopefully more will be released. This was the lineup at 9:40am wrapped around the lobby of waterfront station.
— Karlen (@sunshinecally)
TransLink Mini Train re-sold on Facebook Marketplace in Metro Vancouver
The Mini Train is a miniature model SkyTrain that can attach to a keyring, and works like the Compass Card and Compass Wristband, allowing customers to tap in and out on transit.
But the Compass Mini-Train has a unique feature that sets it apart from other Compass offerings: it lights up when tapped.
People have already started reselling the items on Facebook Marketplace, with some sellers offering the product for over six times the original $6 price.
Limited-release TransLink items are coveted across the Lower Mainland, as well as the company's other transit merchandise, which is
My new Compass “card” in front of my Vancouver bus stop pillow 🚎
— l (@mcguirewood)
This isn't the first time a limited-edition transit item has elicited a sweeping response from Metro Vancouverites. In 2019, people waited in , which was also re-sold online for significantly higher than the original price.