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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

DSC said:
Of course your card could have been being used by your partner.
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Indeed. In fact that's why it wasn't in the right spot in the wallet, for she had taken the kids to school before I left, and put it on the table in front of me - I must have put it in the wallet absent-mindly while talking. Yes, could have been used though - but I don't think they let you get away with that more than once.
 
Megaton327 said:
Except that the cash/credit card fare on the TTC is $3.25 and the Presto fare is $3.00, and that multiple is likely to remain similar or increase (YRT/Viva is $3.50 Presto and $4.50 cash/credit/debit). The TTC has always lumped Credit in with cash (see LFLRV SRVMs currently, and the previous Dundas/College stations' pilot project for credit card payments on Presto readers at turnstiles) not presto.

Also, you can't do metropasses on credit cards, nor can you set a credit card up as a child credit card to open faregates for free--for that matter, obviously kids don't have credit or often debit cards.

And say goodbye to inter-agency transfers/co-fares/fare integration, unless GO, UPX, YRT/Viva, MiWay, Brampton Transit, and Durham Region Transit all start taking credit/debit and work out credit/debit fare integration too--unlikely to be possible due to the need to keep credit card data secure and private.

Your logic of "if someone really wants to use mobile payments, they just pay directly from their credit card" can just as well be changed to "if someone really wants to pay, they just pay using Presto" and stop taking cash, debit, and credit entirely.
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Multiple uses = token fare, single (or sparse) uses = cash fare. That's how other cities set it up. Want a day/weekly/monthly pass? Use a Presto card! Want co-fares or inter-agency transfers? Use a Presto card! Want senior/student/child fares? Use a damn Presto card!

How is "always carry a physical card with a second account" more reasonable alternative than "just accept that some things aren't going into your cell phone"?
 
Megaton327 said:
Actually, for Presto it would need to be added to Apple Pay, because Apple Wallet is only for barcode/QR code based cards. Presto is NFC, so it needs to be done through Apple Pay. Apple is more than happy to add Presto, just Metrolinx doesn't seem interested.

I posted this a while back in the thread, but there's a farecard called Suica in Japan that functions similarly to presto i.e. balance is stored directly on individual cards, here's how it works with Apple Pay--this is how Presto would work if Metrolinx ever gets with the times:

Setup - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207155
Usage - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207154
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For those that don't follow links, the Suica set up one includes the statement "Your plastic Suica card will no longer be usable."

As many have said, because transit cards store account info, balance, recent taps and routing info, etc.; you could only transfer one into a phone and not set your phone up to be used side by side with it like you do with debit or credit.
 
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KevinT said:
For those that don't follow links, the Suica set up link includes the statement "Your plastic Suica card will no longer be usable."
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And beyond that, it includes "Suica cards can exist on only one device at a time" - if you put the card on your Apple Watch it's removed from your phone, and vice-versa. There are cultural reasons for why these inconveniences are acceptable in Japan but unacceptable here in Canada.
 
amnesiajune said:
And beyond that, it includes "Suica cards can exist on only one device at a time" - if you put the card on your Apple Watch it's removed from your phone, and vice-versa. There are cultural reasons for why these inconveniences are acceptable in Japan but unacceptable here in Canada.
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Could you please enlighten me as to what cultural deficiency I suffer from? I happen not to find an inconvenience with that, and find it a perfectly acceptable arrangement. Since it's optional, anyone who disagrees is welcome not to use it.
 
Megaton327 said:
Could you please enlighten me as to what cultural deficiency I suffer from?
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The fact that people in Canada will complain ad nauseam about anything. If Metrolinx did support Apple Pay, people like you would be complaining that they can't use the same physical and phone card, and they'd be complaining that having to carry a separate physical card as a backup defeats the whole point of mobile payments.
 
amnesiajune said:
The fact that people in Canada will complain ad nauseam about anything. If Metrolinx did support Apple Pay, people like you would be complaining that they can't use the same physical and phone card, and they'd be complaining that having to carry a separate physical card as a backup defeats the whole point of mobile payments.
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I have no plans on complaining about any of that, but thanks for correcting me on what people like me will be complaining about, I guess you'd know better than I would.
 
amnesiajune said:
And beyond that, it includes "Suica cards can exist on only one device at a time" - if you put the card on your Apple Watch it's removed from your phone, and vice-versa. There are cultural reasons for why these inconveniences are acceptable in Japan but unacceptable here in Canada.
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It's the same with Second Cup gift cards if you add it to the app the card is useless to you and you have to use the app, unlike starbucks where both can be used.
 
EastYorkTTCFan said:
True but I was only offering it as an exam[;e of a card not working over an app. What I think Metrolinx should do is have the app be a virtual card that can be interchangeable with a physical card.
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So you mean go from a balance and recent status format on the card to just an account number on the card? Where all Presto machines will have to communicate back to the central server to check balance and recent taps rather than just saving it on the Presto card. This is the way to go if you want multiple "cards" linked to the same account, but will have to completely overhaul to system. Like adding data services to all vehicles in order to communicate. Good thing is, this will probably allow for instant updates of the Presto website and loads.
 
Leo_Chan said:
So you mean go from a balance and recent status format on the card to just an account number on the card? Where all Presto machines will have to communicate back to the central server to check balance and recent taps rather than just saving it on the Presto card. This is the way to go if you want multiple "cards" linked to the same account, but will have to completely overhaul to system. Like adding data services to all vehicles in order to communicate. Good thing is, this will probably allow for instant updates of the Presto website and loads.
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I thought that's the way Presto is already set up hence the waiting 24 hours for all devices to sync up when you add money online or register your card. The only thing I ever see show up quickly on the website is adding cash and using it on a TTC bus or Streetcar all other taps seems to take forever to show up.
 
EastYorkTTCFan said:
I thought that's the way Presto is already set up hence the waiting 24 hours for all devices to sync up when you add money online or register your card. The only thing I ever see show up quickly on the website is adding cash and using it on a TTC bus or Streetcar all other taps seems to take forever to show up.
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Currently, Presto only checks back to the central system once a day. If you want to have multiple cards connecting to the same account, they'll have to check the system on every tap.
 
Leo_Chan said:
Currently, Presto only checks back to the central system once a day. If you want to have multiple cards connecting to the same account, they'll have to check the system on every tap.
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Interesting I wonder if they could almost use the computing power of peoples phones to do that sort of like what SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) used to do with a screen saver for your computer.
 
EastYorkTTCFan said:
Interesting I wonder if they could almost use the computing power of peoples phones to do that sort of like what SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) used to do with a screen saver for your computer.
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But that's assuming everyone using Presto on their phones have data, which is even less likely than someone having a (smart)phone.
 
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