News   Jun 07, 2024
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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

That was a limited-time special card design introduced when the UPX entered service, exclusively available from their stations. It supposedly sold out in just a few days but then I saw them tweeting fairly recently that they were selling them at Union. Not sure if they still have any.

The cards I know of are: the original vertical ones, the new horizontal ones, the updated horizontal ones with braille, and the UPX ones.

I got the UPX-themed card this summer from their station at Union. I was meaning to get a Presto Card for the longest time so out of pure convenience picked one up while walking through the Skywalk. To my pleasant surprise they gave me the special edition one, which I thought was just a limited-time only thing when UPX service started.
 
And for anyone that has not seen it... here is the UPX presto:

presto.jpg
 
Presto is glitching again. Apparently I made a transaction before Presto existed (and before the Mississauga BRT existed). I haven't actually been on Mississauga Transit since October.

fwkpc6.png
 
Do the new fare gates take longer to update Presto accounts? I took a trip from Sherbourne to Queen today, and left via Dundas station. My account shows my tap on at Dundas for the trip home already, but nothing for the trip to Queen from Sherbourne.

The tap definitely worked, as the fare gate at Sherbourne opened for me, I'm just not seeing that tap on my account.
 
From my understanding of how the Presto programming works, a batch is uploaded to the server after a certain number of taps at a faregate. Since Sherbourne is far less busy than Dundas, the batch is likely uploaded much less frequently from Sherboune than Dundas, and this is why your tap doesn't show on the website yet.
 
A
Presto is glitching again. Apparently I made a transaction before Presto existed (and before the Mississauga BRT existed). I haven't actually been on Mississauga Transit since October.

fwkpc6.png
Maybe presto will predict your future movements soon.
 
Speaking of 100% Presto installed - yesterday evening rush Dundas station southbound - two Presto readers, both broken (they have been hovering at 50% availability at best for the last month). They have to get someone to stand there and wave the riders though, asking them to tap when exiting (!!). Honestly, how much more backwards can they get - a) having an automated system that failed and could not fix for good for a month; b) having to have someone stand there to visually check the presence of a Presto card and c) begging someone to "tap" when exiting out of the goodness of their heart (and how, anyways)?

It doesn't matter if you're 100% installed if you have to resort to this BS - a) you bought equipment that is broken and cannot be used b) you have to have someone standing their incurring an additional labour cost and c) you can't even recover the fare. That's like a triple loss. But yeah, we're 100% Presto equipped (equipped, usability may vary) and on our way to becoming the best transit system in North America this year. Strong start <slow clap>

AoD
 
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Has anyone released data on what the underlying failure causes are for these devices? Hardware or software? Device, or telecom? Circuit board or wiring? RF interference?

Considering all the other electronic devices in our lives that work just fine for years, I'm wondering what makes these things so troublesome.

I'm also wondering if there is a power off or reboot button. Considering it's what tech support suggests everywhere else in the information world, how often do these devices just need a reboot cycle to come back to life? Maybe we users ought to take this into our own hands.....

- Paul
 

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