Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

[nfitz]

I have relatives coming from outside of Canada. Cannot find any information for a non-PRESTO tourist.

Cash fares are still available, including manned subway entrances. But what happens after we go PRESTO only. Is there a cash or tourist or visitor option.

Lots of information at http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Prices/Paying_fares.jsp - nothing has changed for non-Presto sales for ages - other than the ticket validation machines and fare machines on the new streetcars.

After we go Presto? Tokens and existing tickets will be replaced by single-used paper tickets that are compatible with Presto (i.e. you can tap them). But as they don't go on sale until sometime in 2019, with existing tickets and tokens being valid until at least the end of 2019, it's too way early to start putting that information on the website. Though you can see the entire gameplan in a recent board report - http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Com.../13_PRESTO_Update_and_Transition_Overview.pdf

 

[nfitz]

Agree 100% - though many places do not charge so much ($6) as we do for PRESTO cards and many offer free (not-reloadable) cards with x day unlimited travel.

Others charge more ... £5 now for Oyster in London ... refundable I suppose - but who bothers?

I hate to think how much I've lost on MTA Metrocards over the years, that have always got an extra ride or so on them when I leave NYC, and unlike Oyster and Presto that will last for a decade, expire in months.

 

[Andy T]

I may have a clue about the sudden uptick of down readers and it may have to do with the 2-hour transfers that began being pushed out on the 11th by the Presto. As of right now the 2 hour transfers is working unofficially according to Ben Spur from the Star and I suspect there may be bugs causing reader downtime again due to the update.

 

[Kitsune]

The two hour transfer does appear active. I used to hop off the 501, get breakfast at Mcdonalds and then got back on without getting dinged another fare. TTC Two hour transfers.... great for convenience, horrible for my waist line .

 

[nfitz]

The two hour transfer does appear active. I used to hop off the 501, get breakfast at Mcdonalds and then got back on without getting dinged another fare. TTC Two hour transfers.... great for convenience, horrible for my waist line .

And less exercise too ... might as well hop back on for a few more stops, rather than walking!

Toronto Star said yesterday that TTC confirmed that it was already in place. I saw I got an unexpected free transfer Wednesday night on 506. And I tempted fate this morning, tapping when transferring from a 504 bus to a 504 streetcar at Parliament - which yielded an extra charge previously - and it was a transfer.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Subsequent trips using PRESTO could be considered a continuation trip. It assumes that the waiting time for a transfer can be long, not necessarily the very next vehicle... or next... or next... or next...

 

[MetroMan]

It's pretty simple.

If you tap on at 12 noon, then every tap you make between then and 2 pm is free. At 2 pm if you tap again your are charged.

There's no requirement to tap onto a streetcar or a bus in a fare paid area. If one does so at, say, 2:05 pm then you'll be charged.

I've seldom if ever seen anyone tapping onto vehicles in fare-paid areas - despite the occasional misguided suggestion from TTC to do so.

You missed a very important point.

If you didn't tap to get into a streetcar at a fare paid area, and it's been close to 2 hours after your first tap, if you're later asked to show your PRESTO card by fare inspector, it will show you illegally on the streetcar because your fare is expired. Who's to say you didn't illegally board the streetcar on the stop before the inspector got on? They have no way of knowing so you'll get charged for riding without a fare.

At the very least, fare paid areas become obsolete with the 2 hour fare. I'm not saying that the TTC is going to dismantle them but there'll have to be a public information campaign to always tap when boarding any vehicle or entering a station.

As I suspected, fare paid zones are going to become irrelevant with the 2 hour transfer. You have to tap on even if you’re boarding a streetcar or bus from within a station.

View attachment 154704

 

[DSC]

It is certainly clear that when boarding a bus or streetcar inside a station's 'fare paid area' you should tap onto the new vehicle BUT this notice also says you should tap on 'every time you enter a subway station'. Does this mean they will be installimng PRESTO readers at the subway entrances WITHIN fare-paid areas?

 

[rbt]

It is certainly clear that when boarding a bus or streetcar inside a station's 'fare paid area' you should tap onto the new vehicle BUT this notice also says you should tap on 'every time you enter a subway station'. Does this mean they will be installimng PRESTO readers at the subway entrances WITHIN fare-paid areas?

It is mentioned in the 2012 Presto Agreement with Metrolinx but only in context of cross-boundary Customers (additional equipment to support York Region extension; specifics were TBD).

However, fare-gate exit taps are mentioned (quite briefly) which would provide sufficient information. You almost certainly took the subway between the station your bus terminated at to the tap-out location.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/projectsandprograms/presto/Executed_PRESTO-TTC_-_Master_Agreement.pdf

nfitz provided this document in https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/metrolinx-presto-fare-card.4286/page-436#post-1229680

 

[11th]

It is certainly clear that when boarding a bus or streetcar inside a station's 'fare paid area' you should tap onto the new vehicle BUT this notice also says you should tap on 'every time you enter a subway station'. Does this mean they will be installimng PRESTO readers at the subway entrances WITHIN fare-paid areas?

It means you tap whenever you encounter a payment machine. Everything remains the same as before (pay when boarding a bus/streetcar or entering subway station), except the action of presenting a paper transfer is replaced by a card tap.

 

[DSC]

It means you tap whenever you encounter a payment machine. Everything remains the same as before (pay when boarding a bus/streetcar or entering subway station), except the action of presenting a paper transfer is replaced by a card tap.

That may be the (sensible) policy - it is not what the notice actually says

 

[MetroMan]

Everything remains the same as before (pay when boarding a bus/streetcar or entering subway station), except the action of presenting a paper transfer is replaced by a card tap.

Not quite. Tapping when boarding buses/streetcars is now mandatory when boarding from fare paid areas.

I'd like to see them add PRESTO terminals in fare paid areas so that you can tap as you arrive and wait to board. Imagine travelling from deep inside Scarborough on a couple of buses, a subway and then getting downtown, just as your 2 hours are almost up and then getting screwed because you had to wait another 10 minutes for a streetcar or bus to pull into the station before tapping after the 2 hours, charging you another fare for the final leg of your trip.

It'd also make boarding more efficient for busy waiting areas. If every single person has to tap as they board, that's going to slow things down considerably.

 

[Kitsune]

If only my first tap is valid for 2 hours .... then why do I need to tap in a fare paid area ? ... What is the point of a fare paid area too if your going to have to tap. It's going to slow down boarding.

 

[MetroMan]

If only my first tap is valid for 2 hours .... then why do I need to tap in a fare paid area ? ... What is the point of a fare paid area too if your going to have to tap. It's going to slow down boarding.

If people are using the 2 hour transfer to go somewhere, hop off and hop back on, they can easily run the 2 hour window by the time they get back. Tapping on every vehicle ensures that you have a valid fare, even if the full journey from the time you first tapped on, goes over 2 hours. If your first tap and last tap are within 2 hours, you’ll only pay one fare. But if you’re aboard a vehicle that you didn’t tap to get on, and the full 2 hours is up, you’ll be riding without a valid fare for that vehicle and would be ticketed if asked for POP by a fare inspector. If you tapped to get on that last vehicle, there’d be a record that you tapped on before the 2 hours were up.

 

[Steve X]

If only my first tap is valid for 2 hours .... then why do I need to tap in a fare paid area ? ... What is the point of a fare paid area too if your going to have to tap. It's going to slow down boarding.

They want to see how many people are boarding at the station. Everyone is suppose to do that when they board a streetcar anyways or risk a ticket for not properly using presto thus showing invalid fare when it comes to inspection. Now it's extended to everything.

Not quite. Tapping when boarding buses/streetcars is now mandatory when boarding from fare paid areas.

I'd like to see them add PRESTO terminals in fare paid areas so that you can tap as you arrive and wait to board. Imagine travelling from deep inside Scarborough on a couple of buses, a subway and then getting downtown, just as your 2 hours are almost up and then getting screwed because you had to wait another 10 minutes for a streetcar or bus to pull into the station before tapping after the 2 hours, charging you another fare for the final leg of your trip.

It'd also make boarding more efficient for busy waiting areas. If every single person has to tap as they board, that's going to slow things down considerably.

Yes it'll slow everything down for some ridership data they want. It has to be on a bus or they won't get correct data of how uneven the loading is when it comes to late buses. I highly doubt anyone will take until they do away paper transfers and transistion to tapable single fare medium.

Just wait to subway delays, sorry for your inconveniences. They are late so we have to pay again.