Keep in mind though, that it not only pays for the cost of running it, but it's also paying for the hundreds of millions that TTC was going to have to pay Presto to install it. I'm not sure if there's an opportunity to reduce the rate at some point in the future once it is paid off.
I don't know what the installation charges are, but I suspect they are modest. It's the software charges that have been mounting. As noted, smart cards have been around a long time, so the basic "read the card, select the cost, charge to user's account, etc" functionality is probably already in the can from the last customer. It's the "calculate cost" module that seems to be acquiring additional permutations and combinations, as TTC joins the club and fare integration gets worked on.
When a public agency has a steady guaranteed source of funding, they tend to think more about how they can improve the bells and whistles of their service as opposed to how they can do the base job for less. I say this having spent an awful long time in certain such public agencies.
When I hear about complex rules for transfer tables, it's pretty clear that TTC and others think it's OK to spend that extra amount to develop the sophistication. My non-techy gut says, a rule as simple as "If (time since last transaction < 120 mins), then (price charged = $0)" can't take much programming time. So that's what TTC should get, even if that runs dead contrary to their fare strategy. The prices that I have heard for programming specific transactions into Presto are mind boggling.
As a colleague says regularly, "there's no need to polish a cannonball". Presto can be cheap, or expensive - depends on what discipline is imposed.
- Paul
