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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

Hate to keep bugging you guys for info on how Presto works but you are easier to ask than Presto themselves.....as I get ready to use the card, I keep finding "issues" that have me thinking this is needlessly complicated.

So....last week I realized that I have not used the card since I got it and activated it......once it goes live, I thought, that $10 is not gonna go too far. I went on the prestocard page and set up an autoload......set it at the minimum allowable figure $20...so evertime my balance drops to $20 it will load up some cash.....I assumed that within a day or so my balance would show an autoload....but as of today the balance remains at $10...did I do something wrong?

I believe your balance has to drop from above $20 to below $20 to trigger an auto reload,
 
I believe your balance has to drop from above $20 to below $20 to trigger an auto reload,
Correct. If you are already below the $20 threshold when you set your $20 threshold, then it will never add the cash. This caught me, and was one reason it took me about 4 trips to Union Station before my card was working properly.
 
Correct. If you are already below the $20 threshold when you set your $20 threshold, then it will never add the cash. This caught me, and was one reason it took me about 4 trips to Union Station before my card was working properly.

Wow. Just wow.

That's idiotic. Thankfully it's also easily fixable, assuming they employ someone who can handle writing 2-3 lines of code, and 15 minutes of lawyer-time to amend the terms of use.
 
Wow. Just wow.

That's idiotic. .

I agreee!

Thinking on how I got involved with Presto I think I might (in this case) have been the perfect little marketed-to prospect.

1. heard it was coming and thought..."that should make transit more convenient/easy"
2. Ordered my card well in advance so that I had it when it went live....even though it meant me loading $10 onto a card I could not use
3. As the "live" date got closer I thought "the way to make this very convenient is to set up one of those auto load things so that I am always able/ready to use it"
4. Set the auto-load threshold as low as is allowed (not really my fault that it is still higher than the amount they asked me to load on the card in the first place)
5. Sat back and waited for the convenience of this magic card that auto loads so that I can use transit efficiently.

I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with Presto itself....but some of the human logic decisions that people behind the scenes have made don't seem to be that logical at all.
 
Funny my Starbucks card seems to handle auto reloading of funds quite well, how is Presto struggling with this.

*puts software developer cap on*

I know someone decided that since everbody pasess through Union that they'd only update balances at Union. Saves on network infastructure costs! Blargh!

W.r.t setting an auto reload threshold that is greater than your current balance. The website should prob provide a pop up at the time that you set up the auto-reload alerting you that your balance is below your threshold and would you like to reload now?
 
I know someone decided that since everbody pasess through Union that they'd only update balances at Union. Saves on network infastructure costs! Blargh!

Not quite true. Any balance checker will work, including the one at Kipling GO.

It's quite obvious to me that the TTC never intended for people to use the card exclusively for the TTC - that every transit rider using Presto would be trasferring off of GO and would have activated it on GO. If readers are customized for the transit agency they will be used by at their request, then not being able to activate is consistent with that intention. I look at this problem more as a deliberate action than an error of ommission. Obviously now, with the benefit of hindsight, the decision is being reversed, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the decision was made.
 
The whole having to tap on a GO fare reader issue for TTC users will be fixed before winter. I received a letter from Presto in the mail regarding my complaint from back in May/June stating that the problem has been fixed, and I should notice once their fall software update is complete.

PS. I also like the $25 voucher included with the letter. They call it a small compensation for my inconvenience but it was a lot more than I was expecting. $5 would have covered all the extra costs associated with the issue I complained about.
 
The whole having to tap on a GO fare reader issue for TTC users will be fixed before winter. I received a letter from Presto in the mail regarding my complaint from back in May/June stating that the problem has been fixed, and I should notice once their fall software update is complete.
.

This TTC/GO balance checker tap on issue has actually been fixed.
 
Rutherford Station

There is a 'Construction Notice' at Rutherford GO Station indicating that the Presto Readers will be installed by December.
I have 2 questions, though:
1. What is the benefit of the Presto card for people having a monthly pass?
2. How does GO verify that people actually tapped their Presto card (paid fare)? Do they have some kind of portable RFID scanners?
 
dunno if this has been posted yet but YRT has started to install Presto readers on their buses!
TTC is way too dinosaur...
 
dunno if this has been posted yet but YRT has started to install Presto readers on their buses!
TTC is way too dinosaur...

TTC is also bigger. It is always earsier to change something small. That is why there are test markets in smaller centers before expanding out to bigger centers.
 
dunno if this has been posted yet but YRT has started to install Presto readers on their buses!
TTC is way too dinosaur...

I've been seeing them on all the Mississauga buses I've taken the last while. Will be nice not to have to get cash just to buy tickets at Islington.
 
There is a 'Construction Notice' at Rutherford GO Station indicating that the Presto Readers will be installed by December.
I have 2 questions, though:
1. What is the benefit of the Presto card for people having a monthly pass?
2. How does GO verify that people actually tapped their Presto card (paid fare)? Do they have some kind of portable RFID scanners?

1) You don't have to pay the entire cost of the pass at the beginning of the month since it's a pay as you go account. The discount you get at the end of the month is still roughly the same as a monthly pass. Also, if you end up taking a week off work then you won't pay for the trips you didn't use. Those are the primary benefits in my opinion.
2) Yes, they have portable RFID scanners.
 
I noticed some signs about upcoming Presto Construction during Fall 2010 posted in Lakeshore East stations. Hopefully the construction itself will follow soon!
 
TTC is also bigger. It is always earsier to change something small. That is why there are test markets in smaller centers before expanding out to bigger centers.

Actually, implementing a smart fare card in the suburbs before implementing it in the city is unprecedented.
 

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