News   Jul 12, 2024
199 Church Showcases Heritage Facade and Artwork at Street Level
 1.2K     0 
News   Jul 12, 2024
Six Points Plaza Redevelopment Advances With 36-Storey First Phase
 1K     1 
News   Jul 12, 2024
Trading Spaces: Can Real Estate Conversion Help Boost Housing Supply?
 381     0 

Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

Updates:

Card maximum limit now is $1000, up from $320.
Support for period passes and discounted fares for seniors or students has been enabled. These will begin rolling out for January.
 
nfitz said:
It does raise some interesting questions.


Is it possible that York's costs are cheaper, as they can modify an existing farebox, rather than put in a new one?
Click to expand...

York will actually feature a new unique device, to accomodate the zone-fare system. Similar to the existing GO devices, but with more functionality & also acting as the balance checker.
 
The Presto versus Open Payment battle continues and Google has thrown their hat behind one of them.

Nexus-S, the newest Android based phone, is Open Payment compatible so you can store your Visa Paywave information on the phone and not need anything else for minor purchases. Not so useful at the moment, but it would function in Vancouver once they build their new fare-payment system (due early 2012?).

Since the software is part of the standard Android package, most new Android phones will likely include this capability.
 
Something interesting: The transaction history includes an entry for a "Card Query" when a GO fare inspector checks your card with the portable scanner.
They must download the scanner details into the PRESTO database at some point.

Also for local transit, the transaction log shows the location of the stop you boarded at.
 
Last edited:
TOareaFan said:
Hate to keep bugging you guys for info on how Presto works but you are easier to ask than Presto themselves.....as I get ready to use the card, I keep finding "issues" that have me thinking this is needlessly complicated.

So....last week I realized that I have not used the card since I got it and activated it......once it goes live, I thought, that $10 is not gonna go too far. I went on the prestocard page and set up an autoload......set it at the minimum allowable figure $20...so evertime my balance drops to $20 it will load up some cash.....I assumed that within a day or so my balance would show an autoload....but as of today the balance remains at $10...did I do something wrong?
Click to expand...

Bayer said:
You have to actually use your card for your balance to be updated... that is, unless you use it on the TTC. The terminals there are not linked to the Presto system, apparently. So to update your balance, you have to tap your card on a balance checker. Right now the only ones are at Union Station.
Click to expand...

Just an update....it turns out the responses to my question were partially correct. I had set up the autoload to be ready for when I could use my card regularly (although Brampton station seems like it will never "go live" ;) ).......I eventually did, however, use my card on the TTC....then dutifully waited a few days/weeks for the autoload to kick in.....nothing....next time I was at Union I thought "mmmmm. maybe you have to use it and check the balance"....so I did that .....nothing....couple of days later I am back at Union I go to the Presto desk....explain my problem....the nice lady takes my card and hands it back to me and says "it is programmed for auto load...when it drops below $10 it will reload.." when I pointed out (politely) that she had just rephrased my question and told me what I already new and could she explain why it had not autoloaded...she said "dunno, you have to call Presto"..........


.....today I called Presto and they told me that my autoload was correctly configured but that since I did not use my card and check my balance in that period between no sooner than 24 hours after establishing my autoload and 7 days after establishing my autoload.....it had been suspended and that he could unsuspend it but I will still need to balance check during the next period of no sooner than 24 hours and no later than 7 days or it will suspend again.

When I sighed out loud he asked me why and I just said that this system which is supposed to make transit more convenient seems to be the opposite of that.....he actually agreed and apologized....kinda made me feel sorry for him having to field calls like that.
 
That’s a terrible experience to have.

It sounds more and more like they’re using GO transit riders as guinea pigs to iron out any bugs.

Question is: can PRESTO scale up to handle the number of transactions, complexity of trips, and customers that the TTC has? Or will their servers crash and burn?
 
valvenis said:
Question is: can PRESTO scale up to handle the number of transactions, complexity of trips, and customers that the TTC has? Or will their servers crash and burn?
Click to expand...

No. It's a brand new system. In theory it might, but having never been tested for it I'm going with a great big no at this time.

If we purchased the Octopus or another backend, then yes, but we didn't. Wholly new implementation just for us.


Judging by London's experience, it will be 2015 before we get all the kinks out of the system and other agencies will have started phasing out their dedicated cards by then. Vancouver is doing this the smart way.
 
valvenis said:
That’s a terrible experience to have.

It sounds more and more like they’re using GO transit riders as guinea pigs to iron out any bugs.

Question is: can PRESTO scale up to handle the number of transactions, complexity of trips, and customers that the TTC has? Or will their servers crash and burn?
Click to expand...

Thanks but I really wasn't looking for "sympathy"......but this story (and many others) point out how seriously flawed the customer service/contact protocalls on/at Presto are.....all the more shocking when you consider that Presto's very existance is driven by the notion that you can make public transit more attractive (and therefore popular and cost efficient) if you can introduce an integrated fare payment system that is easy and convenient for users (be they regular users or ocassonal users).

My case just raises two questions

1. Who could ever have thought that this system of "automatic" uploads that was, either, necessary or convenient? If the system as presented to the decision makers called for this sort of multi-trip pay/confirm/within a certain time limit protocall.....why are there no decision makers at Presto who would actually think like a customer and say "Really, that is the best we can do? There is a guy on Urban Toronto that keeps reminding us how easy it is to load/re-load/use a similar system for coffee and donuts" {or critical words to that effec}

2. Even if (inconcievably to me) that this is the best they could do....why when you register an auto-load on the web page is there not a reminder (in big bold text) that says "Thanks for successfully creating an autoload....remember to complete this by tapping a balance checker....wait at least 24 hours but no more than 7 days to complete this next step"

It just makes you wonder what was/is going through their minds when making decisions that will ultimately affect the success/adotpion rate of this system. I am an ocassional transit user but a big supporter of public transit. To me it was a no brainer to get a Presto card and register it for use and autoload. Others might be less tolerant of this level of customer interface which, frankly, can only be described as incompetant.
 
So I lost my PRESTO card. DOH! But it gave me a chance to experience first hand how the replacement process works.

It works like everything else with PRESTO. Unfathomably slow and complicated.

You can report your card lost and order a replacement on-line, but I didn't want to wait for a new card in the mail, so I went straight to a GO station thinking the whole process could only take a few minutes. Wrong. They said I had to call the PRESTO call centre to report it lost first. GO station attendants (and presumably local transit providers) can't flag a card as lost and can't transfer registration to a new card.

So I called PRESTO. The Agent confirmed my old card was blocked, then instructs me to go to the GO station, obtain a new unregistered card, then call them back to transfer my lost card's registration onto the new card.

So I go back to the GO station, get the new card and call PRESTO to have my registration transferred. But! I am then told I have to wait 24 hours before my new card is "active" on their system and can have the lost card's registration transferred onto it. So I wait 24 hours. I call. The agent who picks up says "PRESTO customer service, what is the nature of your call." Were these former 911 operators? I ask to transfer the registration. The agent says the registration and balance have been transferred. You need only to tap on the system for the balance to push to your card. So I go out to Union GO Station and tap on... BZZZT "Insufficient Balance". Nothing has been transferred.

PRESTO. It's anything but.
 
Last edited:
Oy. You would think this would be very easy to set up considering it's already been done so many times in the world.
 
I seriously don't understand why we're implementing yesterday's technology now. We already had to live with tokens and paper transfers for the last few generations. Tap debit and credit cards are already in the market and will become widespread in 2011. The TTC's plan to outsource the installation of this system throughout the entire network to a 3rd party made so much more sense. This is going to be a huge waste of money by the time it's completely implemented, at which point everybody is going to want to be using their debit and credit cards.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top