LOL. Depend on Rogers for connectivity and this is inevitable.
More critical infrastructure like water supply/distribution systems use a combination of hardwired networks and 5G. When there is a failure of all the networks, the control system response is to run in auto and store data to forward to a central node later.
Unfortunately, in the case of contactless payment processing it would be problematic to accept payment on a downed network. Contactless smart cards are, for most purposes, read-only. Presto doesn’t store a balance or what time your transfer will expire, just a secure serial associated with your account.
So what can the TTC do to avoid these revenue losses? Obviously network redundancy is the first priority but, as a failsafe, I still think there is value in a store and forward system. Fare gates can decode the card information locally to identify an account. Require users to tap at fare gates, store for later, don’t report cost or transfer time, don’t even check if they have a sufficient balance. When the network is back forward to the central database where each account charge can be calculated and applied after the fact (maybe as a convenience don’t apply overdraft charges).
There are some corner cases to polish; partial outages may lead users to be over charged – though this is correctable when networks are restored. I think it’s good enough to throw some pennies at
qualified consultants. Would be cheaper to scale than redundant networks.
