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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

nfitz said:
If you are presenting your wallet, then there's likely card clash going on. People will have to stop doing that, once debit/credit is accepted, as who knows which card it will find first.
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I keep my Presto in my wallet on the half opposite my credit/debit cards. I open my wallet to increase the distance between my Presto and cards. It used to be a quick read. Now I've started to walk away, then have to pause to have my card read. It's probably no more than a half second, but is jarring and annoying.

The swing gates (especially the double width ones) open pretty slowly. You don't have to wait for the doors to close from the person before you prior to tapping, but most people seem to. The retracting gates such as those on the T-Bana in Stockholm seem much faster.

Anyway, we have what we have. I find Presto to be much more convenient than the old tickets and tokens
 
PL1 said:
I keep my Presto in my wallet on the half opposite my credit/debit cards. I open my wallet to increase the distance between my Presto and cards. It used to be a quick read. Now I've started to walk away, then have to pause to have my card read. It's probably no more than a half second, but is jarring and annoying.
Click to expand...
Try using the Presto card directly, and tell us if it changes.

Personally, I haven't seen any subway stations with the new readers yet.

Another possibility is that the new readers aren't as sensitive as the old ones, so wallets might slow things down a bit more, until the card gets closer to the reader.
 
nfitz said:
Try using the Presto card directly, and tell us if it changes.
Click to expand...

Good idea... Next week! I do like the convenience of keeping my Presto in my wallet. Also I'm less likely to accidentally leave it in a pocket.

nfitz said:
Personally, I haven't seen any subway stations with the new readers yet.
Click to expand...

Same. All the 56 Leaside and 11 Bayview buses seem to have been switched over to the new readers
 
I am using the new readers at St. Clair frequently and don't find them to be any different than the old ones. However on the streetcar, I have gotten a "too many cards" error when tapping my wallet which has my presto + credit cards in it. I then need to remove my presto card to tap... interestingly, this doesn't happen on the new subway readers.
 
nfitz said:
If you are presenting your wallet, then there's likely card clash going on. People will have to stop doing that, once debit/credit is accepted, as who knows which card it will find first.

On buses/streetcars, I've found it intermittent. Most times it seems fine. But sometimes it seems slow. I'm not sure what the pattern is. Free transfers have been both fast and slow (despite no need for any realtime checks). Though I did notice that the slow tap I got this afternoon on a bus, was likely the first tap in a while, as I tapped in at the back door of a bus, in a fare paid zone; which most people never do. (and doesn't happen on that route at regular stops).

So are the readers on vehicles going to sleep? It could have been hours since anyone had tapped that reader.
Click to expand...
The readers prevent card clash. I used to be able to tap my wallet on the old ones no problem. Now I get a message saying too many cards detected.
 
duffo said:
I am using the new readers at St. Clair frequently and don't find them to be any different than the old ones. However on the streetcar, I have gotten a "too many cards" error when tapping my wallet which has my presto + credit cards in it. I then need to remove my presto card to tap... interestingly, this doesn't happen on the new subway readers.
Click to expand...
Does anyone know if any other stations have them yet?
 
Fwiw, on transit agencies with contactless credit enabled, using Apple/Google Pay feels faster, and I haven't had any issues with the readers not reading my phone properly... I can't wait until virtual presto cards come out.
 
soundmuseum said:
The only downside is that you can only load money onto the IC card using Yen (cash) at the station kiosks. You can't load them using credit cards, unless you have the special combination IC/Transit Pass/Credit/Reward Points cards, which would be for residents, not travelers.
Click to expand...
I think the cash/credit card is not necessarily a technical issue because those combo cards work fine, but more that cash is the norm.
Speaking of combo cards, find it odd no bank has a presto/debit combo card which auto loads your presto. Kind of like the Tim’s card CIBC had a while back but without the stupid buttons.
 
I saw the weirdest thing a few days ago on a streetcar. A woman put her card up to the scanner by the front door and it wouldn't read. She tried three times and then gave up and started walking further back, presumably to try another.
I was sitting in the four cube at the front and watching. As she walked past me, about five seconds after leaving the machine, it went "PING" and lit up. She turned around and we both looked at it and then looked at each other... and she's like... "was that for me?"
And it was. She went back and tried again and the red light and "already tapped" came up when she walked back and did it again.

That transaction had to be sitting there at least five, and probably more like seven seconds before the acknowledgement. I didn't know it would allow it to go on that long.

But I have seen the network seem much slower in general with these new machines. It's not usually that long, but a two to three second stop is normal with these new readers... at least on TTC surface vehicles.
 
What is even the point of this crap?
Why is PRESTO in this "loyalty card" business at all? I bet they expense way more doing this business than is saved by consumers using these "perks".
Just Metrolinx out on another boondoggle. I'd love to know how much Dove Body Wash showed up at their office as a "free gift" for their bloated promotion team.


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Jonny5 said:
What is even the point of this crap?
Why is PRESTO in this "loyalty card" business at all? I bet they expense way more doing this business than is saved by consumers using these "perks".
Just Metrolinx out on another boondoggle. I'd love to know how much Dove Body Wash showed up at their office as a "free gift" for their bloated promotion team.


View attachment 461004
Click to expand...
Once in a lifetime type of deal🤣
 
98% of Streecars and 76% of TTC buses have new readers installed. TTC is in charge of installation on subway faregates. TTC & Metrolinx are aiming to deliver debit and credit payment in mid-2023.
 
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