Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

[nfitz]

It does not...it's just on a wishlist. People have mentioned other systems, such as London and Sydney, that do have caps.

Some agencies using Presto have done this.

The contract between Metrolinx and TTC does force Metrolinx to make daily passes available if TTC wants them.

TTC has yet to announce what they will implement. There's no point implementing anything other than single fares until implementation is complete

and if your life was such that you would use the TTC every work day each way 23 times a month 12 months of the year you would likely sign up for the discount plan where the cost of a Metropass is 46 X the 2.80 token/presto fare....so you break even on just your work trips and every other trip you take on TTC is free.

The discount pass is $129.75 a month; but you also get the 15% tax credit (I'd assume most people using it to commute earn enough money to be paying taxes). So the real cost per month is $110.30 About the cost of 39 tokens.

So someone working 20 days a month and travelling both ways with tokens would be cheaper to use a pass. Though how one doesn't ever travel on weekends, evenings, stop on the way home for something, run errands at lunchtime, or lend the pass to another member of the household during evenings and weekends I don't know ... my pass got used 7 times yesterday (Saturday) alone; thrice by my wife in the morning, and then I went out to play in a sports league, and then after supper to have a drink with the same folks.

 

[Megaton327]

The TTC website has a map that shows which stations have presto.

View attachment 58880

http://ttc.ca/Routes/General_Information/Maps/index.jsp

I have always found it odd that Main Street, Kennedy, and Leslie lack presto given that they connect to GO stations (Danforth, Kennedy, Oriole). I thought one of the key factors for the TTC and Metrolinx to decide which stations get it was connection with regional services (YRT/Viva, MiWay, GO) that take Presto.

It's also very odd that St. Clair and St. Clair West don't have it yet--it goes live on all streetcars, including 512, in less than 2 months now. It will be an incredibly poor customer experience if one cannot enter at St. Clair West and pay presto to board a 512, but can do so on the street at Bathurst or Tweedsmuir; similarly for St. Clair West, people would have to walk to Yonge. Not a huge deal but definitely an inconvenience having to wait at a much less sheltered location and getting on the streetcar after a potentially large load of passengers have gotten an earlier opportunity at the station. They really need to get it installed at those two--they used the logic of putting it at any stations where the streetcars would have presto to install it at Bathurst, Dundas West (mixed with GO/UPX), and Broadview given the LFLRVs were scheduled to go to those stations, and (with the very brief exception of Bathurst during pan-am) they didn't end up being needed!

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Two weeks I saw a notice in St. Clair West about PRESTO installations. Not sure when it will be compete.

 

[vaas]

Two weeks I saw a notice in St. Clair West about PRESTO installations. Not sure when it will be compete.

If the posters are anything to go by its pretty far off in the distance. IIRC , the completion date is listed as June or July.

 

[cplchanb]

Still shocked to notice that Kennedy as a terminal station doesnt have Presto installed. Same with Eglinton being a heavy use and future interchange station

 

[Jonny5]

I have always found it odd that Main Street, Kennedy, and Leslie lack presto given that they connect to GO stations (Danforth, Kennedy, Oriole). I thought one of the key factors for the TTC and Metrolinx to decide which stations get it was connection with regional services (YRT/Viva, MiWay, GO) that take Presto.

It's also very odd that St. Clair and St. Clair West don't have it yet--it goes live on all streetcars, including 512, in less than 2 months now. It will be an incredibly poor customer experience if one cannot enter at St. Clair West and pay presto to board a 512, but can do so on the street at Bathurst or Tweedsmuir; similarly for St. Clair West, people would have to walk to Yonge. Not a huge deal but definitely an inconvenience having to wait at a much less sheltered location and getting on the streetcar after a potentially large load of passengers have gotten an earlier opportunity at the station. They really need to get it installed at those two--they used the logic of putting it at any stations where the streetcars would have presto to install it at Bathurst, Dundas West (mixed with GO/UPX), and Broadview given the LFLRVs were scheduled to go to those stations, and (with the very brief exception of Bathurst during pan-am) they didn't end up being needed!

Transfers between TTC and GO, other than at Union, are so rare they should not be a factor in the decision on where to install PRESTO. At Danforth people would use the TTC/GO Metropass instead of PRESTO for now.

Very few people walk-in to St. Clair West and those that do will overwhelmingly not have PRESTO cards for years. More walk in to St. Clair, but for the same reasons there is no case for prioritization.

 

[BMO]

Transfers between TTC and GO, other than at Union, are so rare they should not be a factor in the decision on where to install PRESTO. At Danforth people would use the TTC/GO Metropass instead of PRESTO for now.

Very few people walk-in to St. Clair West and those that do will overwhelmingly not have PRESTO cards for years. More walk in to St. Clair, but for the same reasons there is no case for prioritization.

I use Eglinton West/ St. Clair West and half of my office does as well and you'd be surprised how many people are looking forward to having PRESTO installed on the TTC. Not because of transfers but because it means we no longer have to carry around tokens and no longer have to pay for a metropass that we don't use enough. It's a great thing for those people who aren't super casual transit riders but aren't the hardcore ones either based on my observations.

Dunno about the ratio of those with or without a PRESTO but I wouldn't underestimate how pleased it would make people to see PRESTO cards at St. Clair sooner.

 

[nfitz]

Two weeks I saw a notice in St. Clair West about PRESTO installations. Not sure when it will be compete.

Second half of 2016 sometimes I'd guess, along with the rest of Phase 2 (Wave 2).

Still shocked to notice that Kennedy as a terminal station doesnt have Presto installed. Same with Eglinton being a heavy use and future interchange station

I'm not sure what would suddenly be shocking. They announced in August 2014 the 26 Wave 1 stations, and announced by late 2014, that those 26 stations would be complete in 2015. Kennedy was always part of Phase 2.

In January 2015 they announced an acceleration so that Phase 2 would be complete by the end of 2016, rather than the previously announced 2017.

Not sure why in late 2015, as they are finishing installing the various machines for the Phase 1 stations, on schedule, why one would be surprised, let alone shocked, that a Phase 2 station hasn't got Presto readers yet, given previous announcements. There's many stations where you could make a case for Phase 2 - however Kennedy doesn't have a particular high amount of walk-in traffic - even with the GO station, were I've been surprised at how few people actually transfer when I've been there.

 

[TOareaFan]

^honestly it surprises me that there are subway stations scheduled to have Presto into the middle of next year when the entire streetcar service is supposed to be activated by the end of this year.

It is not something I follow that closely but I just assumed that the push to have the streetcars activated meant the subway was complete.

That one or two of the subway stations not scheduled to be "presto'd" until next year see a fair amount of streetcar interaction is all the more puzzling.

 

[NotMathematical]

I just hope, they don't begin installing the readers 1-2 months or weeks before December 2016 at new stations. Hopefully, they'll phase in PRESTO and begin installation early 2016 and , else the there's going to be a lot of confusion, and people will feel that the card is being forced down their throats. And HOPEFULLY, full serve PRESTO machines that sells cars will be installed at stations in time. Downtown is fine, just the suburbs that I'm worried about.

 

[Jonny5]

^honestly it surprises me that there are subway stations scheduled to have Presto into the middle of next year when the entire streetcar service is supposed to be activated by the end of this year.

It is not something I follow that closely but I just assumed that the push to have the streetcars activated meant the subway was complete.

That one or two of the subway stations not scheduled to be "presto'd" until next year see a fair amount of streetcar interaction is all the more puzzling.

The TTC has claimed they have major problems installing the infrastructure for PRESTO because the stations are loaded with asbestos, and that automatically requires they call on outside help from a very limited pool of asbestos removal experts. I don't know if it's true or not, but it is believable that there is a ton of asbestos all over.

 

[crs1026]

The TTC has claimed they have major problems installing the infrastructure for PRESTO because the stations are loaded with asbestos, and that automatically requires they call on outside help from a very limited pool of asbestos removal experts. I don't know if it's true or not, but it is believable that there is a ton of asbestos all over.

They certainly were loaded with asbestos, originally. IIRC there was a pretty intensive abatement campaign a couple of decades back to remove it, particularly from the platform areas where moisture and vibration and renovation projects, like lighting and electrical/electronic/signage upgrades, were most likely to dislodge it. It's quite possible that more benign areas such as the upstairs were left alone - a very common approach to asbestos is, if nothing will disturb it, just leave it.

- Paul

 

[ehlow]

Just confirming what most would assume:
From TTC town hall (on TTC's youtube) at ~1:15:00

Byford confirms Presto will be capped at what you would've paid for a Metropass.

 

[nfitz]

Just confirming what most would assume:
From TTC town hall (on TTC's youtube) at ~1:15:00

Byford confirms Presto will be capped at what you would've paid for a Metropass.

Which one? The weekly one for $40.75? The monthly one for $141.50? Or the annual one at $129.75/month (which is what I pay).

 

[Megaton327]

Which one? The weekly one for $40.75? The monthly one for $141.50? Or the annual one at $129.75/month (which is what I pay).

I have a suspicion that the MDP pricing will disappear. Right now it's offered on the basis that you pay upfront for the whole year committing to all 12 passes--if I recall correctly, it even says on their website that you're allowed to cancel your subscription, but your refund will be reduced by the additional amount of converting the existing monthly MDP-price passes you did receive up to the non-MDP price point as a result of cancelling early. If the TTC is indeed going with a capped monthly maximum for taps, there's no mechanism to pay them whatever odd thousand-and-something upfront for the whole year on Presto, so I think the $129 will disappear for the $141. I believe they have indicated in the past that daily taps will likely be capped at the daily pass price, weekly taps at the weekly price, then monthly taps at the monthly price, but that was undoubtedly not final and I guess we'll find out soon-ish.

MDP pricing COULD remain if the TTC decided to go with 2 pass solutions--have monthly capping at a price slightly higher than the current pass, then have an actual monthly pass loadable onto your card for the pass price, and have an annual pass purchasable at the start of the year for the annual MDP total price...not sure how eager they'd be to overcomplicate things in that manner, if not for their passengers then certainly for themselves/Presto/accounting folks, as opposed to just going with the simple cap.