Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

[EastYorkTTCFan]

The City continues to investigate using PRESTO for the Island Ferry - it makes such sense to do this as by 2017 most transit users will need Presto cards so the % of ferry customers having one will be high. Park Dept said today " I have investigated the feasibility of a PRESTO implementation for ferry ticketing and this is still under consideration as we review options. Any future project would be assessed based on priority, along with the many other projects being considered, and then scheduled accordingly." I think this is bureaucratic speak for 'very slowly".

True but at least they seem like they want to use it rather then the operators of Ion who seem to want to go backwards with there system.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I remember using my TTC tickets (no transfers) to board the ferry to to islands. That was before the ferries were transferred over to the parks department. Today, its $7.50 for adults and $3.65 for kids under 12. See link.

BTW. The Staten Island ferries in New York City between Staten Island and Manhattan, are free.

 

[PinkLucy]

I remember using my TTC tickets (no transfers) to board the ferry to to islands. That was before the ferries were transferred over to the parks department. Today, its $7.50 for adults and $3.65 for kids under 12. See link.

BTW. The Staten Island ferries in New York City between Staten Island and Manhattan, are free.

The Wolfe Island ferry in Kingston is also free

 

[cplchanb]

The City continues to investigate using PRESTO for the Island Ferry - it makes such sense to do this as by 2017 most transit users will need Presto cards so the % of ferry customers having one will be high. Park Dept said today " I have investigated the feasibility of a PRESTO implementation for ferry ticketing and this is still under consideration as we review options. Any future project would be assessed based on priority, along with the many other projects being considered, and then scheduled accordingly." I think this is bureaucratic speak for 'very slowly".

well there isnt any excuse for them not being able to do it...it all depends now on if the WANT to do it.

 

[Napoleon]

The City continues to investigate using PRESTO for the Island Ferry - it makes such sense to do this as by 2017 most transit users will need Presto cards so the % of ferry customers having one will be high. Park Dept said today " I have investigated the feasibility of a PRESTO implementation for ferry ticketing and this is still under consideration as we review options. Any future project would be assessed based on priority, along with the many other projects being considered, and then scheduled accordingly." I think this is bureaucratic speak for 'very slowly".

This one is such a no-brainer that it's hard to believe it hasn't already been done. Just contract Metrolinx or the TTC to install a reader and a gate that's it.

 

[amnesiajune]

BTW. The Staten Island ferries in New York City between Staten Island and Manhattan, are free.

Staten Island has 475,000 residents, about as many as Etobicoke and York combined. The Toronto Islands are nowhere near that big.

 

[dowlingm]

This one is such a no-brainer that it's hard to believe it hasn't already been done. Just contract Metrolinx or the TTC to install a reader and a gate that's it.

Ferries aren't run by either of those bodies. More likely that Parks and Wreck will need to reach a separate agreement with Prestocard (which may not be at TTC rates). Alternatively, as I proposed to Gord Perks last night, give the damn ferries back to the TTC, at which point it's in the TTC system anyway.

 

[DSC]

Ferries aren't run by either of those bodies. More likely that Parks and Wreck will need to reach a separate agreement with Prestocard (which may not be at TTC rates). Alternatively, as I proposed to Gord Perks last night, give the damn ferries back to the TTC, at which point it's in the TTC system anyway.

The TTC would never take them back and in any case how could they short-turn them?

 

[nfitz]

There are always going to be some readers that don't work; the question is 'what %?" I have recently only seen one non-working reader (on a bus) but the driver told me to tap on at the rear one that was working so it was hardly a great problem. Once the installation is complete I assume the TTC will carefully monitor failure rates and keep it below whatever % they find acceptable.

I rode 3 streetcars last fortnight that had BOTH readers broken. Got 2 free trips out of it!

 

[Jonny5]

well there isnt any excuse for them not being able to do it...it all depends now on if the WANT to do it.

Does Metrolinx want to do it? It's not like you buy a PRESTO reader, slap it on a ticket booth and off you go. What if Metrolinx whines about the work for such a niche project and wants a huge cut of the revenue (like the 10% OC Transpo may have to pay)? Who maintains the machines on the island side? Will someone fix them at 6AM on a Saturday in January or will they sit out of service for days? How do those machines communicate back to the rest of the network? Will they have to string cables all the way there? Or are they pay fare only, with no pushing loads? Of all the things we could do with PRESTO this sounds expensive for what little we get out of it.

 

[Jonny5]

I rode 3 streetcars last fortnight that had BOTH readers broken. Got 2 free trips out of it!

A lot of the 504 shuttle buses don't have PRESTO readers. The drivers waive you past and the fare inspectors bypass them, sticking to streetcars only.

 

[Napoleon]

Who maintains the machines on the island side? Will someone fix them at 6AM on a Saturday in January or will they sit out of service for days? How do those machines communicate back to the rest of the network? Will they have to string cables all the way there? Or are they pay fare only, with no pushing loads? Of all the things we could do with PRESTO this sounds expensive for what little we get out of it.

There is no need for readers on the island. One pays for a roundtrip when boarding the ferry at the Jack Layton Ferry docks. The return trips are included. And it does actually sound pretty simple. Slapping a few readers on the side of the booth and connecting them to the network can't be that hard. Especially with readers already installed almost underneath the ferry docks at the Queens Quay station for the streetcar.

 

[salsa]

Metrolinx VP for Presto says everything is on track to enable entire TTC with the fare card system by the end of the year.

 

[Jonny5]

There is no need for readers on the island. One pays for a roundtrip when boarding the ferry at the Jack Layton Ferry docks. The return trips are included. And it does actually sound pretty simple. Slapping a few readers on the side of the booth and connecting them to the network can't be that hard. Especially with readers already installed almost underneath the ferry docks at the Queens Quay station for the streetcar.

"It can't be that hard" are famous last words.

So people who live there can't use presto to go downtown? That will go over well. Can you load cards at the docks? You'll now need internet connected computers and presto terminals in all the booths. Who will inspect fares on both trips? Are the entry/exit docks now gated with presto compatible locking turnstiles? What if you go to the island by some means other than the ferry and want to come back by the ferry with no presto card? Is someone there? Do you just get a free ride? Water taxis will love that. What if presto goes down? Everyone travels free? The one person left working at the docks handles the 25,000 passengers?

You also glossed over the whole Metrolinx part; the most difficult, costly, and not at all in the TTCs control part. Of all the possibilities. ferries are the lowest benefit for cost I can think of. It's an extreme expense, and continuing money suck, for a miniscule benefit considering the backlog is the FERRY CAPACITY! You know, those creaky 80 (!) year old boats the federal government won't even let the city use to capacity because if there was an accident they calculated many people would die? I cannot fathom why this, of all possible things for which presto could be used, is continuously brought up.

Let this idea die.

 

[Napoleon]

"It can't be that hard" are famous last words.

So people who live there can't use presto to go downtown? That will go over well. Can you load cards at the docks? You'll now need internet connected computers and presto terminals in all the booths. Who will inspect fares on both trips? Are the entry/exit docks now gated with presto compatible locking turnstiles? What if you go to the island by some means other than the ferry and want to come back by the ferry with no presto card? Is someone there? Do you just get a free ride? Water taxis will love that. What if presto goes down? Everyone travels free? The one person left working at the docks handles the 25,000 passengers?

You also glossed over the whole Metrolinx part; the most difficult, costly, and not at all in the TTCs control part. Of all the possibilities. ferries are the lowest benefit for cost I can think of. It's an extreme expense, and continuing money suck, for a miniscule benefit considering the backlog is the FERRY CAPACITY! You know, those creaky 80 (!) year old boats the federal government won't even let the city use to capacity because if there was an accident they calculated many people would die? I cannot fathom why this, of all possible things for which presto could be used, is continuously brought up.

Let this idea die.

You perhaps should inform yourself on how the ferry system works as your current assumptions are grossly incorrect.

One pays fares only on the way to the island. There is no fare collection whatsoever for the trip from the island back to the mainland. You do in fact just get a free ride. And if you were to actually ride this you would find many times the backlog is the line not the ferry capacity.