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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

On the other hand, this is a mess:

http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/fares/prestocofaresmay1.aspx

Under PRESTO, the co-fare discounts which currently exist between GO Transit and local transit will continue.

PRESTO will calculate and deduct the co-fare discount for your local transit trip to or from a PRESTO activated GO Train station. However, during the initial stages of the larger PRESTO implementation, the full co-fare discount will only apply to the first 35 one-way trips per calendar month which include travel on both the GO Train and local transit. Full functionality for co-fares with local transit systems will be available at a later date. Until then, customers who travel by GO Train more than 35 times per month and use local transit to get to or from the GO Train station, should continue to use existing GO tickets or passes.

If the local bus that you take to or from the GO station is not PRESTO activated, local fares in cash, tickets or tokens can be paid. You will not be able to pay the discounted fare by showing your PRESTO card to the driver.
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My bolds, above. Looks like the change to GO fare policy for Presto hasn't been fully implemented. DRT and GO buses are the tail end of the implementation, so it'll hopefully be done before it affects me.
 
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Has anyone seen Presto readers on the other Lakeshore West line stations yet? It's supposed to be "Spring 2010" for the full line...
 
Swarley said:
Has anyone seen Presto readers on the other Lakeshore West line stations yet? It's supposed to be "Spring 2010" for the full line...
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Further up the thread I posted:


There's also an article in a community newspaper last week - http://www.insidehalton.com/news/article/808189--presto-farecard-arrives

And it says "during the period from May 24 to June 6, the GO stations of Appleby, Burlington, Aldershot and Hamilton will launch Presto. The GO stations at Clarkson, Port Credit, Long Branch and Exhibition are expected to adopt the service by June 21."

Hmm ... so if one is using Presto between 2 stations - how does one know if the station at the other end of the trip is taking the card yet or not? Presumably one can at least do one's default trip if there is no card at the other end ... This will only get more complicated as things start to come more on line.
 
I'd wager dollars to donuts that Presto will be posting specific station installation dates and info on their social media pages (facebook and twitter), once the system is officially "live".
 
PRESTO Lakeshore West Rollout Schedule

November 2009
Union

May 10, 2010
Oakville

May 17, 2010
Bronte

May 24, 2010
Appleby

May 31, 2010
Burlington

June 2010
Aldershot
Hamilton
Clarkson
Port Credit
Long Branch

July 2010
Mimico
Exhibition
 
I'm confused by some item's in the FAQ on the Presto website.

First there is this section:
How long does it take for the e-Purse load to reach my card?

In Person at PRESTO Customer Service Outlet: Immediate
AdHoc Reload at PRESTO Website: 24 Hours
Autoload - initiated when a specified threshold is reached: Immediate
Requested Reload from PRESTO Call Centre or PRESTO Website: 5 Business Days
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Then it says:
Why does it take 24 hours for my e-Purse load to appear on my card? Some devices, such as Bus Fare Payment Devices, are designed to operate without being connected to the system. It can take up to 24 hours for those devices to receive data that would confirm the load.
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Is the cash actually stored on your card? I would think the first section should be about how long it takes cash to go from your bank account or credit card to your e-purse, not from your e-purse to your card. Maybe they are just using that phrasing as an attempt to keep things sounding simpler?

My interpretation of what they mean to say is that if you add cash via a customer service outlet, it will go into the system immediately, then be downloaded into the mobile units the next time they go to the garage. But maybe that's wrong?

Why does an "adhoc reload" via the website take 24 hours to "reach my card"?
What is a "requested reload" and why does it take so long?

It sounds like, in some cases, you could run out of cash and not be able to add any for 48 hours, especially if you need to take a bus to get to a Presto customer service centre, wherever those will be.

On GO Transit, if you do not ‘tap off’, your PRESTO card will be charged the maximum fare and your card will go into underpayment mode (a $2 underpayment fee will apply). To use your card to travel on GO Transit again, you will need to clear the underpayment. This can be done at a PRESTO Customer Service Outlet.
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Also, this $2 fee for not tapping out sounds like a scam. If you forget to tap off, your card is then frozen for GO until you visit a customer service booth? I often ride to Eglinton to visit a friend. If I forget to tap off, I accept being billed for the trip to Oshawa, but why an extra $2 fee? What if coming back it's late at night and the station is closed. My card will then be frozen with no legal way to use it. Hopefully the TVM is working and I remembered to bring a credit card to buy a ticket.
 
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This would be a perfect time for the TTC to implement timed transfers, the single most useful and ridership-generating change they could make.
 
Jonny5 said:
IAlso, this $2 fee for not tapping out sounds like a scam. If you forget to tap off, your card is then frozen for GO until you visit a customer service booth? I often ride to Eglinton to visit a friend. If I forget to tap off, I accept being billed for the trip to Oshawa, but why an extra $2 fee? What if coming back it's late at night and the station is closed. My card will then be frozen with no legal way to use it. Hopefully the TVM is working and I remembered to bring a credit card to buy a ticket.
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This $2 fee does not exist. Presto is giving out bad information on GO's practices. Last night they tweeted that GO would have monthly passes coming this fall on Presto, and they won't (because the pricing tops out at a monthly pass level).
 
Does it really take 24 hours for money added via the website to apply to your card? Do they have some office worker manually inputting the numbers from one system into another or something? I'm not sure how this kind of delay could possibly exist.
 
I would think re-loading online would be extremely convenient for most riders. 24hours waiting period seems excessive.
 
Justin10000 said:
I would think re-loading online would be extremely convenient for most riders. 24hours waiting period seems excessive.
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Way earlier in this thread I joked that they should contract this out to Tim Hortons....maybe that was not so funny....every Monday morning my Timcard gets reloaded and I am able to caffinate on my way to work that day!
 
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