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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

Presto is starting on YRT on Monday, details can be found here: http://www.yrt.ca/news/index.asp


All PRESTO cards to be distributed are $25 pre-loaded cards (includes $6 card issuance fee and $19 e-purse value). YRT/Viva customers who choose to purchase and register their PRESTO card on-the-spot will only pay $19 ($6 card issuance fee waived). Customers who do not wish to register their card on-the-spot may purchase a PRESTO card for $25. Cash only payments accepted.
 
good news. I'd use it if I could use presto on the streetcar, which unfortunately is a necessity to my final destination.
 
So I ordered a Presto card and it arrived in the mail today. So I activated it online and now I have 7 days to, erm, activate it? So I just need to go to a Balance Checker to activate it yes?
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
So I ordered a Presto card and it arrived in the mail today. So I activated it online and now I have 7 days to, erm, activate it? So I just need to go to a Balance Checker to activate it yes?
Click to expand...

That is what they say....it is the part I had most trouble with but as long as you wait a bit from the online activation (they recommend 24 hours) but not too long (definitely not more than 7 days) tapping it on any device makes you good to GO
 
TOareaFan said:
That is what they say....it is the part I had most trouble with but as long as you wait a bit from the online activation (they recommend 24 hours) but not too long (definitely not more than 7 days) tapping it on any device makes you good to GO
Click to expand...

Cool. As long as I'm not forced to use it, as I cannot use it from Erindale for a bus as far as I know, at least not until the whole bus network is activated.
 
I found the activation "tap on" a bit confusing too. I'm not using the card for another 10 days (figured I'd buy early) but it seems I had to tap on before 7 days are over. I walked over to the GO station and tapped, which charged my card even though I wasn't going on a trip that day (I just wanted to make sure I activated it). Luckily I had read all the instructions and knew I could cancel my trip immediately and get the 4.20 back.

A question I have -- if I load money on my card today, but don't ride for more than 7 days, is that a problem? Cuz the site says something about how you have to tap on within 7 days of re-loading money. And I thought I read some limitations on how long money can stay on a card (1 month) -- is that true?

Awhile back, I just figured you could just get a card, load it up to a 1000, and use it as frequently or infrequently as you like.
 
EnviroTO said:
Where would the money go if that was true? All unused balances get consumed by Metrolinx?
Click to expand...

I imagine Metrolinx would eventually start applying a monthly management fee that would eat the balance to zero. They're not going to be responsible for the balance on a dead persons card going for centuries into the future.

It's pretty standard to time restrict funds being held in a dormant account.

Most banks have a limit on how long money can sit in an otherwise dormant account. After a year or two of the account being completely inactive (no transactions other than interest payments), they eliminate interest paid and nibble at the principal until it hits zero.
 
rocker said:
A question I have -- if I load money on my card today, but don't ride for more than 7 days, is that a problem? Cuz the site says something about how you have to tap on within 7 days of re-loading money. And I thought I read some limitations on how long money can stay on a card (1 month) -- is that true?

Awhile back, I just figured you could just get a card, load it up to a 1000, and use it as frequently or infrequently as you like.
Click to expand...

If there is a limit, it's much much longer than 1 month. I've had money on my card for several months (7 months, maybe?) and it hasn't gone away.
 
So YRT / VIVA goes live in the morning and unlike the flat fares of Brampton et al. and tap-on(-tap-off) of GO, we have fare zones with no ability to tap off. This has left me wondering how zone upgrades will work.

A normal tap deducts a single zone's fare, while VIVA machines and YRT drivers have the ability to allow you to pay for two zones from the start. In addition, VIVA machines allow you to upgrade your fare from a one-zone to a two-zone. However, they are silent on what happens if you try to board a bus in zone 1 with a zone 2 fare already deducted. This is a normal thing, as there a plenty of people who take the 98 from Newmarket to the 99 at Bernard terminal. What will happen when they transfer buses? Will the extra dollar be deducted? Will a whole new fare be deducted? Will the system crash and laws of physics be broken?

Anyone willing to be a guinea pig for the good of the travelling public?
 
bleeepbluuup said:
If there is a limit, it's much much longer than 1 month. I've had money on my card for several months (7 months, maybe?) and it hasn't gone away.
Click to expand...

Good to hear.. but here's the line that confused me from the website....

Load and Reload Value
Your activation is available 24 hours after purchase, and remains available for 30 days.

My "activation" of value "remains available for 30 days." hmmmm....
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
Cool. As long as I'm not forced to use it, as I cannot use it from Erindale for a bus as far as I know, at least not until the whole bus network is activated.
Click to expand...

That's why they say to tap it on a Balance Checker, which doesn't deduct anything. I think the reason is that the balance is stored on the card and not in some remote place, so it has to communicate with the system somehow to load the balance onto the physical card.
 
mattbg said:
That's why they say to tap it on a Balance Checker, which doesn't deduct anything. I think the reason is that the balance is stored on the card and not in some remote place, so it has to communicate with the system somehow to load the balance onto the physical card.
Click to expand...

When I read further, it seems every time you add money you have to go to a machine to make sure it gets added? How ridiculous is that?
 
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