Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

[jje1000]

i've been using presto for 5 years now - including the TTC for much of that (back at the start most of my trips were conveniently between the few subway stations that were equipped), and from an end users perspective, I've always found the media reports to vastly over-blow the issues. For my use, from day one it's been a pretty nice card.

There are yet more features planned in the next little while that will finally bring the system up to the promises initially made oh so long ago.

My impression of it now (as a TTC user) is that it generally works now.

Occasionally on a bus I have to use the back machine, but generally the problems with gates and readers have been resolved.. I auto top up so that has never been an issue.

I feel the same way. I have never encountered a serious problem using Presto. As best I can tell, I've never been overcharged. The only thing I've encountered, really, is the odd broken device.

I don't load my card online, but I've never needed to. I always find time to do it at the station.

Good to know- thanks for the insight. It looks like the main issues are largely related to the TTC implementation and its related teething issues (i.e. news like this, this, or this).

Would anyone say that the backend software is fine? I've heard of people complaining of slow-tap speeds or long times to cancel cards)- is this still an issue?

I think that if Presto ultimately is extended to all major Ontario transit systems (i.e. Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Barrie) to form a seamless system, it will be a card with incredible reach.

 

[Bayer]

I found out today that I lost my Presto card with about $35 on it. So I bought a new card from their new machine at King station. Then I go online to try to cancel my lost card and transfer the balance to the new one. But the system doesn't yet recognize the new card; it can take up to 24 hours. So I can't transfer my balance, nor cancel the old card yet.

This delay, and the various 24-hour delays that are a constant in the Presto system, are inexplicable and very annoying. Presto is still half-baked after all those years.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I found out today that I lost my Presto card with about $35 on it. So I bought a new card from their new machine at King station. Then I go online to try to cancel my lost card and transfer the balance to the new one. But the system doesn't yet recognize the new card; it can take up to 24 hours. So I can't transfer my balance, nor cancel the old card yet.

This delay, and the various 24-hour delays that are a constant in the Presto system, are inexplicable and very annoying. Presto is still half-baked after all those years.

Try a lanyard next time. DO NOT PUNCH a hole in the card.

From link.

 

[WillTo]

I found out today that I lost my Presto card with about $35 on it. So I bought a new card from their new machine at King station. Then I go online to try to cancel my lost card and transfer the balance to the new one. But the system doesn't yet recognize the new card; it can take up to 24 hours. So I can't transfer my balance, nor cancel the old card yet.

This delay, and the various 24-hour delays that are a constant in the Presto system, are inexplicable and very annoying. Presto is still half-baked after all those years.

But compare to losing 35 cash. Or a metropass.

The 24 hour delay is in fact very explicable. It's explained on the presto website.

 

[Bayer]

But compare to losing 35 cash. Or a metropass.

The 24 hour delay is in fact very explicable. It's explained on the presto website.

Saying that my card "must be updated in their system" isn't an explanation. We're talking about IT here. 24 hours is an eternity.

 

[steveintoronto]

I found myself explaining...well...*trying to explain* the 24 hour hysteresis to a very tech savvy Austrian who had just bought a Presto Card in the delight of 'being able to hop on and off the TTC for two hours without playing silly games'. She gets flustered at the limitation of her English (She has a PhD in Fine Arts from a Vienna Uni) and so loves not having to explain her actions just to get on the freakin' TTC.

Except she couldn't understand why Presto, unlike other systems, doesn't update in real time. I went to show her how the Presto site works, she'd already set up an account, but be damned if I could get her account to show the details of her $20 worth of trips the last week, let alone that she topped it up on-line, and nothing shows. I could understand her card not showing it if read, but her online account?

As much as I design and develop electronic components and have worked in engineering in three nations, I'm an unapologetic Luddite other than using mainframe and desktop machines.

She does all of hers on an iMemyself pad...lol...in German, which doesn't make it any easier for me to follow what her entries are...and she's slowly learning my Luddite ways: "If you want realtime accounting, you've got to talk to a real person at a wicket, on a GO bus, or at a GO and/or TTC station". (Or a Shoppers for that matter, albeit I've never done that myself, and I don't know if that updates the online account in realtime).

I use a dumb phone, a flip top in fact (they're making a huge comeback...I wonder why)
Flip phones and other "dumbphones" new tech trend | CBC News

• 
  
  
  • RACHEL HOSIE
  • Monday 20 August 2018 11:10

Sales of “dumbphones” are on the rise as consumers increasingly seek ways to disconnect from the technology so many of us rely upon for work and everyday life.

Handsets that are not connected to the internet and only allow the user to make calls and send texts are becoming increasingly popular, with sales having increased by as much as 5 per cent last year.

In contrast, smartphone sales rose by just 2 per cent. [...]

'Dumbphone' sales rise as people seek to disconnect and be more

I like cash myself...and getting service from real people. Das ist gut!

I'll say this, and I've discussed this with a number of accountants and finance types:
If financial institutions ran an accounting system like Presto do online, they'd be shut down by the OFSI within a day. "Missed TapOff" suddenly appears on an account with absolutely no explanation of when or where, and they grab your money without your having a chance to ask them to explain it. And of course, any concession you have on the card is deemed null and void too for the journey you 'missed tapping off' on, so they take even more off.

They could learn a lot from the banks, and I thought I'd never say that...

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions

 

[Johnny Au]

I just applied for the Fair Pass program and I had to pester someone at Ontario Works for a week and finally succeeded (I am an ODSP recipient (I have autism) and the ODSP office told me that Ontario Works is in charge of administering the Fair Pass program).

I can now tap my Presto card for $2 and travel anywhere (within Toronto city limits, Pearson, and very small parts of Vaughan of course) for that much within two hours. It is well worth the pestering.

 

[Megaton327]

Saying that my card "must be updated in their system" isn't an explanation. We're talking about IT here. 24 hours is an eternity.

Since you're such an IT expert, can you explain how they can have instant reloads on cards that are on mobile vehicles or underground, without a stable constant wired internet connection, without spending additional funds that taxpayers and governments are unwilling to allocate to something that is already seen as "too expensive"?

 

[nfitz]

Except she couldn't understand why Presto, unlike other systems, doesn't update in real time.

I'm not aware of other major systems that DO update in realtime from online loads.

London is even slower than ours. Montreal you can do realtime IF you buy your own card-writer and plug it into your computer.

I'm tired of all these "grass is always greener" comments when it seems those making it area looking at green paint on concrete.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Still, after much complaining in Ottawa when it was first introduced they did speed up the load time to every 4 hours from the original 24 a few years ago. Is it still 24 in the GTA? At least here where there still isn't fare vending machines commonly available until the confederation line opens online was pretty much the only way to reload until the Shoppers partnership

 

[Bayer]

Since you're such an IT expert, can you explain how they can have instant reloads on cards that are on mobile vehicles or underground, without a stable constant wired internet connection, without spending additional funds that taxpayers and governments are unwilling to allocate to something that is already seen as "too expensive"?

This wasn't about a reload, but about a card I purchased and loaded in one of their own new machines - a card that I was able to use immediately afterwards. It seemed odd that it wasn't recognized in their system right away and that I couldn't register it in my profile. It is precisely because I'm not an IT expert that I would appreciate a more detailed explanation for those delays.

And talking about taxpayers' money, I'm one of those (few) people who are consistently infuriated by how stingy Ontarians are when it comes to public expenses and who are always arguing for higher taxes.

EDIT: So, I was able to add the new card to my account. Unfortunately, that was a mistake, because it was supposed to replace a card I lost, and the replacement card has to be without an account for the balance transfer to work. This is so intuitive!

 

[Kyle Campbell]

This wasn't about a reload, but about a card I purchased and loaded in one of their own new machines - a card that I was able to use immediately afterwards. It seemed odd that it wasn't recognized in their system right away and that I couldn't register it in my profile. It is precisely because I'm not an IT expert that I would appreciate a more detailed explanation for those delays.

And talking about taxpayers' money, I'm one of those (few) people who are consistently infuriated by how stingy Ontarians are when it comes to public expenses and who are always arguing for higher taxes.

EDIT: So, I was able to add the new card to my account. Unfortunately, that was a mistake, because it was supposed to replace a card I lost, and the replacement card has to be without an account for the balance transfer to work. This is so intuitive!

Oh yeah that i remember from when i lost my card, but because i had done it at a customer service center they warned me about that "feature".

As an IT professional i do understand the delay for online reloading, but not the 24 hour period for registration for a replacement card

 

[steveintoronto]

I'm not aware of other major systems that DO update in realtime from online loads.

London is even slower than ours. Montreal you can do realtime IF you buy your own card-writer and plug it into your computer.

I'm tired of all these "grass is always greener" comments when it seems those making it area looking at green paint on concrete.

Well perhaps if you'd avail yourself of the facts, you wouldn't get so "tired": (This was over a year ago)

Commuters will be able to top up Oyster cards using smartphones

• MARK BLUNDEN Technology Reporter
• Wednesday 19 July 2017 09:52

Tube passengers will be able to top-up their Oyster cards on their smartphones after Transport for London today announced the launch of an official app.

The free iOS and Android app, which will be available to download next month as part of a series of payments upgrades, will allow users to buy pay-as-you-go credit as well as travelcards.

It will include the same functions as the TfL website, including allowing customers to check how much credit they have.

Users will also get a low balance alert on their phones to ensure they have enough credit before travelling.

As part of the upgrades, customers will be able to activate their credit at any station, whereas previously they needed to nominate one to make it work.

The funds will take half an hour to update on to the account, which is faster than the current 24 hours but still lagging behind today’s instant payment technology people are used to,

Previously, top-ups done online would take 24 hours to activate, although they are still instant if done in person using machines at stations.
[...]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...p-oyster-card-using-smartphones-a3591096.html

I get tired of Canadians thinking they're "world leading" in so many things when they haven't a clue as to what's not only possible, but being done elsewhere.

Even though deeply into electronic design and development, I claim to be a Luddite...by choice (KISS rules!).

But many Ontarians and by extension, Cdns, are Luddites by default. So many are told "it isn't possible, and we're better" and they blandly and blindly believe it. Ford for Premier anyone?

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Correction: I realize why now. Because they themselves can't force the old card to be invalidated immediately, they don't want to be responsible for any usage between when you report it and when they can guarantee it's been invalidated

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Still, after much complaining in Ottawa when it was first introduced they did speed up the load time to every 4 hours from the original 24 a few years ago. Is it still 24 in the GTA?

to make things clear the 24 hours refers only to changes made to your account, it's because not every system auto-update their readers all the time. The TTC does it sometimes hourly or also depending on the amout of taps a particular reader gets in aday.