With many of its retail spaces sitting vacant, sometimes for years, TransLink is upgrading the infrastructure of those units in the hope of attracting new tenants that could revive stations with Asian-inspired offerings; their ultimate goal is Compass Card payment as an option at all TransLink vendors.

Statistics provided by the transit authority show a vacancy rate of just 7 per cent for retail spaces in 2015, spiking to 25 per cent in 2017 and sitting at 21 percent last year. But TransLink is quick to point out rental revenue steadily grew during that time from $456,000 across the system to $792,000 last year.

“We are in a period of record ridership and the traffic coming through is amazing and I think retailers are starting to realize that,” said TransLink spokesperson Jill Drews.

She said long-term vacancies like the corner store space at Stadium-Chinatown Station are a reflection of the design that went into the older stations that were opened in 1986 for Expo. As TransLink upgrades older and high-traffic stations, Drews says they are adding electrical and plumbing capacity to those retail spaces to attract eateries, boutiques and other vendors that could appeal to transit users. They’re also looking for out-of-the-box offerings beyond the typical coffee shop.

"We also want to get the right kind of tenant,” said Drews. “We don't want to have a tenant in there that's bound to fail. We want something in there our customers are looking for and would actually benefit from.”

TransLink has its eye on European and Asian transit hubs which house everything from vending machine and fast-food offerings, to upmarket retail and grocery stores. They’re particularly interested in Hong Kong’s transit system, where Octopus Card carriers are able to use the card to pay at a variety of vendors within the gated system.

While Drews acknowledges the fact many potential tenants are put off by the fact available retail spaces are in fare paid zones, she says any Compass Card holder can currently tap into a station and stay for up to 20 minutes for free before tapping out at the same station.

TransLink began focusing on revamping its retail spaces in the face of declining interest about five years ago and sees the Compass payment option as a big move for commuter convenience.

“It's something we're preparing for and hope to see maybe one day in the future once we can get the technology to that level," said Drews.