- I don't know if they still have this, but the worst was that you load money on your card, and if you don't use the card for a month then they reverse the transaction. If I transfer money from one bank account to another, they don't reverse it if my account stays dormant.
- The other problem is that if you load money on your card, it doesn't actually show up for 24 hours. If I buy something online, As soon as I click, the item is being shipped - no 24 hours wait period.
This discussion has long progressed from TYSSE-specific Presto discussion to TYSSE-unrelated Presto discussion, but I'll respond to your points since they're ridiculous:
1. Why would you load money on your presto card then not use it for a month? Why not load it
less than a month before you need to use it? Additionally, this does not apply to loads done in person, only online ones.
2a. Your statement as written is false, as you can load money at a customer service outlet or reload machine and it is on your card instantly, the waiting period only applies to online loads.
2b. Many readers such as the TTC bus/streetcar ones and GO train station ones update multiple times a day, your load can be ready anywhere from a couple of minutes later to about 4 hours later on those. Only the other 905 agencies' buses and GO buses update once a day; you'll really only wait 24 hours if you load at, say, 7 AM one day and need to take a YRT bus for instance.
2c. I find most functioning adults are able to plan their lives about 24 hours in advance. I don't think that it's reasonable for one to blame their inability to keep their life in order on Presto.
2d. You can enable autoload on your card so that it automatically and instantly tops up whenever it is low. The initial setup takes a couple of minutes, then you have to tap 24 hours later (or less per point ii above) but within 30 days, and then you're all set--whenever your card dips below your desired threshold it instantly reloads by your configured amount, no waiting period and no need to keep track of your balance if that sort of thing is difficult for you or you just prefer the convenience. This can be done with metropasses on the card too. You only need to redo the registration if you choose to autoload off a credit card and it expires or is cancelled, I believe bank account autoload doesn't expire.
2e. The comparison to online shopping makes absolutely no sense. What, exactly, if anything, do the two have in common? Please do educate the rest of us simpletons, and Metrolinx, for not being able to discern this extremely obvious similarity they share. Firstly, what online store do you use, exactly, that as soon as you click your item is being shipped? Even Amazon's same day delivery doesn't even start to work on shipping the item for several minutes, let alone actually ship it. And it is most certainly a 24 hour wait period unless you're using Amazon same day--I've never seen another online service that goes from order to receipt of package, consistently, with zero chance for carrier delays, in under 24 hours...for that matter I've ordered TONS of 1 day/same day amazon packages that get delayed to the 36-48 hour mark.
Also, can you please explain which online shopping website you use that's constantly driving around and can't afford an always-on mobile internet connection because it's taxpayer funded and taxpayers don't like having their taxes raised to pay for frivolities? Last time I checked, most online stores run off servers that are hardwired, usually with a dedicated fibre line, to the internet, at extremely high cost. Is there a transit agency somewhere in the world that has its buses driving around with a dedicated fibre line attached to the bus? That's an incredible feat of engineering, if so.
The real reason for this is passenger flow issues. It only takes one second (literally) to glance at the remaining balance, but imagine if every passenger did that. It adds up, and people already complain about Presto gates being slow to open. The other agencies don't have the passenger loads that the TTC has.
There has to be a balance. Are passenger loads per stop on the 33 Forest Hill so heavy that an extra second, per passenger
who cares to closely inspect their balance and can't do so with just a quick glance, would impact service in any way? I think not. On the other hand, Bloor-Yonge or Union, or the 504 during peak? Yeah, probably not the best idea. But the overwhelming majority of subway stations' gates, and surface vehicles, at the majority of times on most days, are absolutely fine. It's only a small number of vehicles and stations during, mostly, AM and PM peak periods, where this could pose a
minor inconvenience.
And I'm not sure how much you ride GO Trains during peak hours, or OCTranspo's busier routes like the O-Train at Carleton or many Transitway buses at stops like Mackenzie King, or busier GTA bus routes like the Zum 502 out of Square One with single-door boarding, or certain YRT/VIVA routes or GO buses out of York University. Many of these have extremely high passenger loads, I've never felt that people reading their balance information was contributing significantly to delays at presto readers aboard any of these services, all of which I've taken at hours when loads were as high, per presto reader, easily as Bloor-Yonge at AM peak for instance. Limited numbers of presto readers, and readers that are slow to recognize taps, are a bigger issue.
The slow fare gates the TTC has are a FAR bigger problem for passenger flow than showing balance as that delay is MUCH longer per passenger.
