Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

[Palma]

From what I read about the auditor general's report on Presto, v1 was supposed to include all the features including open payment. the company presto got to create the system however failed to accomplish this. presto in its incredible stupidity decided instead of taking the company to court and fining the company for not obeying by the contract, decided to get into another contract and pay more money to the same company to get the things promised in the original contract.

What kind of stupidity is this? No wonder why costs always escalate with government. The TTC may not be government but it is a public service. Everyone knows if its a government contract you can make lots of money even if you make mistakes

 

[nfitz]

What kind of stupidity is this? No wonder why costs always escalate with government. The TTC may not be government but it is a public service. Everyone knows if its a government contract you can make lots of money even if you make mistakes

What has the Ministry of Transport contract with Accenture got to do with TTC?

 

[Evening]

What has the Ministry of Transport contract with Accenture got to do with TTC?

ya, the TTC and the city of toronto seem to have been doing the right thing with looking for cheaper options because Metrolinx really screwed up presto. I still love my presto card and want ttc to adopt it now but with hindsight, i wouldve preferred a more competent leadership at metrolinx which couldve gotten us a great system right from the get go

 

[muller877]

ya, the TTC and the city of toronto seem to have been doing the right thing with looking for cheaper options because Metrolinx really screwed up presto. I still love my presto card and want ttc to adopt it now but with hindsight, i wouldve preferred a more competent leadership at metrolinx which couldve gotten us a great system right from the get go

The Ontario Government loves bespoke systems. E-Health, Presto, etc ... all great for empire building. But when you want to build a new system (hopefully cheaper than the off-of-the-shelf alternative) you take on the risk of failure which is never included in the proposal. It would be interesting to read the contract carefully...I assume Accenture was permitted to charge the Ontario gov't more.

The ones pre-made (Octopus, etc) that are for sale do cost slightly more. But it would have been guaranteed to work and the timeline is known.

The TTC was going to go with one that was not in any major city and may have had the same issues as Presto (timing, extra billing, etc). We would have had a much different discussion if the TTC went with Octopus.

 

[Electrify]

With the weather getting colder and my bike in need of repairs, I decided to reestablish the auto reload on my card. To my pleasant surprise, I can now set the minimum to $5 instead of $20!

 

[salsa]

If I had $5 as the minimum, $7 remaining on the card, but then I take a train to Barrie or Niagara Falls which costs well over $7 dollars, does that cause a negative balance?

 

[nfitz]

If I had $5 as the minimum, $7 remaining on the card, but then I take a train to Barrie or Niagara Falls which costs well over $7 dollars, does that cause a negative balance?

When you tapped on to start your trip with $7 remaining, it would deduct $5.20, bringing your balance to $1.80. If you have autoload, it would then trigger it, bring your balance up. When you tapped off at the end, you would still be positive. If you didn't have autoload, it would be negative.

 

[ksun]

Another year passed and presto is still not fully implement on the TTC. Can't say I am not impressed.
I am still waiting patiently to enter year 2000 here in downtown Toronto.

 

[TOareaFan]

Another year passed and presto is still not fully implement on the TTC. Can't say I am not impressed.
I am still waiting patiently to enter year 2000 here in downtown Toronto.

if you can't say you're not impressed.....does that mean you can say you are impressed?

 

[nfitz]

Another year passed and presto is still not fully implement on the TTC. Can't say I am not impressed.
I am still waiting patiently to enter year 2000 here in downtown Toronto.

There was never any plan to fully implement it in 2014. It's less than 2 years ago since TTC agreed to accept Presto. The first part of TTC implementation begins this weekend. Full implementation won't be until 2017.

I'm not sure why you think it will be any different.

 

[Electrify]

There was never any plan to fully implement it in 2014. It's less than 2 years ago since TTC agreed to accept Presto. The first part of TTC implementation begins this weekend. Full implementation won't be until 2017.

I'm not sure why you think it will be any different.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/12/a_brief_history_of_ttc_tokens/
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/11/28/ttc_signs_up_for_presto_fare_card.html

Re Salsa's question, what if you have your destination preset so you don't have to tap off and it deducts the full fare amount? I assume that it will load your card when you tap since you will be going under the $5 threshold, but seeing how flimsy the card can be, is that the case?

 

[scamander24]

It is possible for your card balance to go negative, you just have to reload it eventually before using your card again. So I can have $1 in my card, and tap on a bus to deduct, say, $3. My balance would then be -$2, and I would have to eventually refill my card or else the next time I try to tap on on a bus, it will reject it with a big red light, and the bus driver will kick you off the bus.

The auto load feature would automatically add however many dollars you specify as soon as your balance goes under your preset amount. It would automatically debit your credit card the second you try to tap on.

I've gone into overdraft mode with my presto card many times and, out of frustration, ended up just using the auto load feature for the past several years. I've never actually had any problems with it, the system seems pretty robust. It's also really great for me since there are long periods of time when I take GO transit once every two weeks, and periods when I take it every day for several months. The card automatically takes care of all my funds and I never have to worry about not having enough money to get on a bus or train.

That is, until I come to Toronto and have to deal with streetcars and buses and non-presto-equipped subway stations. Oh Toronto.

 

[Electrify]

Don't forget getting your card unlocked and paying the penalty fee. Hell, the fee is nothing compared to the time and stress required to make your card usable again.

 

[nfitz]

Don't forget getting your card unlocked and paying the penalty fee. Hell, the fee is nothing compared to the time and stress required to make your card usable again.

If your card simply goes negative, and then you add funds somehow, it shouldn't need unlocking. They changed that a while ago. Has this happened recently?

 

[ksun]

if you can't say you're not impressed.....does that mean you can say you are impressed?

yes, very impressed. That's what I meant. No typo here.