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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

steveintoronto said:
Don't you need the four digit pin number used when the card was issued? And/or the three digit verification number?
Click to expand...
no.

I mean.. if you are going to take a photo of your card, you may as well just register it. It only takes 2 minutes.

I can't say I haven't enjoyed unregistered cards before though. I've found cards on the ground twice before that were not registered, so I couldn't return them. One had something like $40 on it too..
 
innsertnamehere said:
no.

I mean.. if you are going to take a photo of your card, you may as well just register it. It only takes 2 minutes.

I can't say I haven't enjoyed unregistered cards before though. I've found cards on the ground twice before that were not registered, so I couldn't return them. One had something like $40 on it too..
Click to expand...
I just bought one off of a friend to help her to her destination without it being charity. Just tried to register it, but I don't have the PIN, it won't let me.
 
innsertnamehere said:
I mean.. if you are going to take a photo of your card, you may as well just register it. It only takes 2 minutes.
Click to expand...
Not everyone can register online right away (disability, dyslexia, no reception, no Internet at the time, browser problem, lazy, job, hurry, etc)

There are many people who can use a cameraphone, but have huge difficulty (e.g. dyslexia, disability) spending 20 minutes with a simple website registration form that takes you only 2 minutes.

Even my dad, who is 84 years old, even knows how to take a photo with his phone. Or writing presto number down on paper and storing it in a bedroom drawer.
 
I'm just getting the impression that the people just don't bother to register their Presto card. And I'm not talking about people with disabilities or have any barriers to the internet or knowledge, just the average person.
 
And also, there are people who have spent 2 hours figuring out how to register their card (e.g. making an unnecessary trip to Presto offices) only to spend 5-10 minutes registering it online right after.

I keep hearing SO MANY horror stories of lost money because they never thought or figured out how to register their Presto card. At this stage, it is just easier to tell people four words "Just take a photo" of the back of the card for private keepsies.

Also there are many people who have a broken/cracked card in hand and they were (wrongly) told that money cannot be recovered because it was not registered. Balderdash! You've got the cracked card, the number's still legible, just register it online.

I've saved a guy who was incorrectly told by a TTC rep that the funds could not be saved.

He had the the two broken pieces of unregistered Presto card.
100% unreadable & 100% untappable.
But all numbers was still legible on the back.
We typed it into the browser together, and viola -- registered a shattered Presto card.
Then immediately transferred to another card.
Funds were saved!

steveintoronto said:
Don't you need the four digit pin number used when the card was issued? And/or the three digit verification number?
Click to expand...
Yes, but the photo contains all of that.

The Presto number and 3-digit verification number are on the back of the card, above each other. All of the numbers are all on the same side of the Presto card. One photograph captures both of them!

If writing down, you obviously need to write down all numbers (as you would with backing up credit card info -- verification number included -- into a password manager -- or bedroom-drawer post-it-note -- or web browser autofill).

I hate to sound like a broken record, but it's also a lifesaver for people on assistance (the very people who have more difficulty figuring out how to register a Presto card -- Down's syndrome included -- are the very people who have difficulty affording to replace lost Metropasses in the past). And, email/message the photo to yourself / spouse / trusted helper, so you have a backup in your private cloud (or Sent mailbox) in case you lose your phone.

I've done it before, it works.

Yes, certainly, it's best to register right away, but sometimes it's not practical, you're walking, having just purchased Presto from Shopper's Drug Mart, and you're not sure your forgetful "smartphone-reluctant" friend will actually register it right away. It's easier to coax them to take a photo than to help them type "www.prestocard.ca" into a tiny touchscreen keyboard they barely know how to type on. Sometimes it is a "Please take a secret photo of your Presto card back now, if you can't promise to register it online today. Either move will save your ass if you lose your card." situation.

I've seen thousands of dollars combined worth of heartbreak already.
 
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“Metrolinx was never given any facts or substantiation of these alleged free rides, thus we have (as always) focused on our Presto and TTC customers and their satisfaction,” Verster said.

I was very satisfied with my free rides :)
 
The issue with TTC is more than other systems, but all systems have the same issues with free rides. I have had a few rides when the readers are down on buses and drivers waves everyone to move on.
 
Is anyone surprised? Have you ever seen a reader out of service, but still showing the background OS? It's Windows 98. You're welcome.
 
I'm not sure what went through GO Transit's head today, but they started checking presto cards right in the York Concourse before allowing people up the stairs. There were people arriving for a Lakeshore westbound express train at 5pm, and a westbound all-stops at 5:10, and these guys want to add a bottleneck?

Besides the fact that people can see they are checking and just go tap on, are they really going to be able to ticket someone there?
 
canoehead said:
I'm not sure what went through GO Transit's head today, but they started checking presto cards right in the York Concourse before allowing people up the stairs. There were people arriving for a Lakeshore westbound express train at 5pm, and a westbound all-stops at 5:10, and these guys want to add a bottleneck?

Besides the fact that people can see they are checking and just go tap on, are they really going to be able to ticket someone there?
Click to expand...
the idea is not to hand out tickets, but rather to make sure that EVERYONE pays
 
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