A name for our regional smart card

[vansky]

When vancouver has a weakness, I slap it hard like all should. I slap myself on my weakness and I look down on others when they are the same. Dont tell me you guys respect weakness...

vancouver's infrastructure is weak, that's from the studies, that's not from my own eyes. i'm sure they rate different things accross cities, and come up with the result close to reality. So let's end the argument on who's the dump and who's the heaven. What about tokyo, the most livable city in asia.

[clooless]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

tranpass

How about Trannypass.



Anyway, I think mr.x is right; Otter seems to be the next best choice to Orca.

One
Transit
Ticket for the
Entire
Region.

Or something like that...

And how could you say no to a face like this:

[Vancity]

Orca or Otter for the smartcard name would be awesome

[mr.x]

^ river otters are hideous, the Sea Otters are the ones we adore:

[deasine]

Otter would be suitable since it doesn't necessarily imply it is a smartcard just for transportation.

[vansky]

gawd, i wonder who created these animals...

[clooless]

Er, pardon? What do you mean "created"?

[hollywoodnorth]

how about the Mr "X Card"?

[Kwik-E-Mart]

If the contract goes to HKMTR, then Vancouver's should be called "We're Octopus Too!"

Otter sounds good, but a hurdle I am seeing is the name's similarity to London's Oyster...

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Kwik-E-Mart

If the contract goes to HKMTR, then Vancouver's should be called "We're Octopus Too!"

Otter sounds good, but a hurdle I am seeing is the name's similarity to London's Oyster...

perhaps....but, there's a huge difference between this:






and this:





and for that matter, this:





and this:





AND this:

[vansky]

Originally Posted by mr.x

perhaps....but, there's a huge difference between this:

hahaha

funny photos, good to alternate between intensive debates and relaxation.

[Metro-One]

If we are going with animals lets just call it the duck billed platypus!

[igeneer]

I vote for Otter, and thought of it just before seeing Mr. Xs posting.

We should try to somehow convince Translink to give it this name.

[metroXpress]

Originally Posted by mr.x

perhaps....but, there's a huge difference between this:

Good one!

[twoNeurons]

Ride free with the TRAMP? You guys realize that's a joke, right? I certainly hope suggesting "TRAMP" wasn't serious.

Anyway, getting back on topic. A sampling of cards around:

Kansai, Japan (Mascot is a Platypus) Word is a double pun:
icoca (ee koe ka), short for Ikou card. (Let's Go Card). Also can mean Shall we go?



SUICA, Kanto, Japan (Mascot is a Penguin (dunno what it has to do with Japan, except that people seem to love penguins)


From Wiki:

Suica stands for "Super Urban Intelligent Card", and the pronunciation is also a pun on the Japanese word for watermelon, "suika". In the logo, the "ic" is highlighted, as the initials stand for integrated circuit, the technology inside the smart card, in common Japanese usage. An additional meaning comes from the expression "sui sui", meaning "smooth" and an abbreviation for "card", "ka", intended to highlight the smooth simplicity of using the card compared with traditional train tickets.

TOICA (Central Japan)

(There is a plain design too)

Name just comes from Tokai Card, as the Tokaido Bullet Train runs through the region.

Sugoca (seeing a pattern?) Mascot is a Frog with a clock


From Wiki:

The name is an acronym of "Smart Urban GOing CArd", while sugoka (凄か) in the Kyūshū dialect means "great".

KITACA (Hokkaido)


Name: Kita means north, which is fitting since its used in the Northern Prefecture (Hokkaido).

Mascot: A flying squirrel found in Hokkaido

OYSTER (London, UK)


From the city that brought you the 2012 Olympic logo:

Oyster was chosen as a fresh approach that was not directly linked to transport, ticketing or London. According to Andrew McCrum, now of Appella brand name consultants, who was brought in to find a name by Saatchi and Saatchi Design (in turn contracted by TranSys), Oyster was conceived and subsequently promoted because of the metaphorical implications of security and value in the component meanings of the hard bivalve shell and the concealed pearl. Its associations with London through Thames estuary oyster beds and the popular idiom 'the world is your oyster' were also significant factors in its selection as was the uniqueness of the word Oyster.

Someone is thinking too deeply. Interesting, though.

I don't know of any mascot.

OCTOPUS (Hong Kong)


Interesting reason for the name, having to do with "8" being a lucky number in the culture, to the meanings behind the characters in Chinese having to do with being "reachable in all directions"... but I'll let you read it yourself:

Personally, I like the simplicity and play on words behind the meaning of ICOCA and the thought that was put behind "Octopus" the best (though I personally feel the number "8" is overdone)

For Vancouver, I've always said Otter is a good name, (thank-you Mr.X2 for bringing it up again) as they're commonly seen in the area and hard not to like. Lots of opportunities for Acronymization, too.

One Ticket Transit in Every Region?

One Tap Transit for Each Region

Oy! Turnstiles Take Extra Resources

If Only Translink Tolled Every Road (Not that I feel this way)

ORCA is also good. We're famous for the Giant Pacific Octopus, as well as eagles... but Octopus has been used, and Eagle is very American.

I really like Lotus which also conjures up the Asian flavour of the city. Or if we really want, we "could" go with "Raven" but I feel it could be construed as an aboriginal symbol, and IMHO, they tend to look back at our history, as opposed to forward to our future... which for transit, doesn't seem to fit.

As for the person that said we don't have Starfish (actually called Sea Stars, btw) you must be kidding me. We have tonnes of these (literally) hanging around Granville Island's piers.

Other suggestions could be Salmon, like Coho, Chinook or Sockeye.

[Metro-One]

Actually i love the idea of using an Eagle. BC has the highest concentration of Eagles in North America and they are very much part of our lives. In fact "Eagle" sounds great. I can already hear the advertising campain....

"Soar high with the Eagle Pass, available at your local..."

As for the person that said we don't have Starfish

I was going to mention something about that too. In fact you can even find starfish at low tide in Coal Harbour along the sea wall. These ones are hard to see because they are purple and blend in very well with the rocks.

[LotusLand]

Finally someone else likes Lotus

[The Lonely Tanner]

Long time lurker, first time poster;

Why not call it a "Salmon," or "Salmon Pass?"

I don't know if you can get more WestCoast than that, and it sticks with the Ocean theme, even if the motivations were different (Make the World your Oyster,... No idea what the Octopus was for...).

They'd be Atlantic Salmon of course, to avoid the nasty connotation of dieing upon reaching your destination... lol

[Kodii]

Starfish. Sand Dollar?

As much as I like Orca, if Seattle stole it, I'm happy with Otter

[NetMapel]

If we somehow deviate from the O-letter, I also support Canucks Card, not because of the hockey team, but because it's the Canadian nickname.