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How will the TTC's "transfer" system work on PRESTO?

Let's say you get on at St. George, tap your PRESTO card and head south on the University Spadina Line. You get off at Queen and then want to get on the 501 streetcar. Do you tap again? Won't that deduct another fare?
 
DavidH said:
Interesting, Oakville Transit is going to be testing PRESTO with a loyalty program:

* Rides 1 to 8, single adult fare ($3)
* Ride 9, 50% off single adult fare ($1.50)
* Ride 10, no cost
* Rides 11 to 35, adult ticket fare ($2.55)
* Rides 36+, no cost

This is quite an interesting structure since it automatically provides a discount for moderate users (first ten rides if you use them automatically are discounted to match the ticket fare, and an effective monthly passes automatically kicks in. Hopefully this is successful; anything that eliminates the need for users to do calculations to determine whether a monthly pass makes sense for a given month is a good thing.
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Yes, that is interesting. Essentially once you do 10 rides in a month, it's the same as tickets.

The break-even point compared to tickets is 10 rides in a month, compared to the 30 rides required by GO! Given that many people who use GO, are more likely to use their local system more frequently than the regional system, one would think that the break-even point would be lower for the regional system, not higher.

Ten is what I would expect ... traditionally that's what it has always been - buy 10 rides, tickets, tokens, and get a discount. With Oakville you start geting a discount over tickets on the 11th trip. With GO you start getting a discount over tickets on your 31st trip.

In other systems, one of the benefits to a smart card, is the ability to eliminate almost all of the cash fares at ticket booths and vehicles. With such pricing, I expect ultimately when agencies want to achieve this, they will simply turn the cash fare into a penalty fare similar to London, and eliminate any paper media and tokens.
 
Based on that fare structure, I would be saving 30% a month.

Lets see what other systems bring out as break point?

I'm still waiting to see what been plan for the GTA pass since I'm a heavy user of it. I can get my cost down to $.50 a trip.
 
Platform 27 said:
Yes, you tap, but no, it doesn't deduct another fare. Hence "smart" card.
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To be more specific, if you are transferring and you are within the rules for a transfer (e.g. time limit), tapping for your transfer does not deduct another fare.

A cooler example of the kind of functionality that can exist is cofares. If I ride my local DRT bus to the GO station, I will be charged full DRT fare. When I tap in on a GO bus or train, I will automatically be refunded the majority of that DRT fare so that the total is the co-fare amount. But if I *don't* get on a GO vehicle, I don't get the refund. All very nice and simple from the driver's perspective.
 
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I enquired of GO why 10-ride tickets were cheaper.

I was told that it was because "The PRESTO Fare system does not support period passes like a Ten Ride ticket or Monthly pass", " The present POP system is expected to last at least another five years after which it will be slowly phased out." and " If you are an infrequent user of the GO system, then the PRESTO system may not suit your purpose."

Given it would take more than 30 trips a month for Presto to be cheaper than a 10-ride ticket, I'm amazed that GO would classify someone who takes 30 trips a month on GO as an "infrequent rider".

I'm also surprised to hear that Presto doesn't support monthly passes. And that GO intends to maintain all the aging validation equipment for paper media through 2014.
 
nfitz said:
I'm also surprised to hear that Presto doesn't support monthly passes. And that GO intends to maintain all the aging validation equipment for paper media through 2014.
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Presto doesn't support monthly passes for distance-based fares such as GO has for one simple reason: it wasn't asked for. Had GO wanted to go that route, Presto surely would have supported it.

As for cost comparisons, again, it's a zero sum game. GO is giving benefits to a number of groups with Presto: those who buy currently monthly passes but don't always use up all of their rides, those who buy ten ride tickets instead of monthly passes because they can't afford the up front costs (anecdotally, I'd say about 50% of regular GO bus riders on my route use ten ride fares), and those who ride multiple routes. If they are getting reduced revenue from these groups, they have to make it up somewhere else.

Is this right? That's a judgement call and I'm not entirely sure where I stand on it.

Yes, I'm also stunned that GO is going to keep the "old" system in parallel for an extended time.
 
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Novae Res Urbis

Finally !! TTC agrees to sign onto the Presto program in the TTC Commission meeting on November 17, 2009~

**********
TTC signs on to PRESTO
November 20, 2009

The TTC voted to participate in the PRESTO farecard system, which is being developed by the province and Metrolinx as a streamlined payment system for transit in the GTA. The TTC had previously expressed concerns about the system, but at Tuesday’s meeting voted to take part subject to certain conditions. The TTC wants to ensure that funding will be provided to make the implementation and operation of the farecard system affordable to the TTC and City of Toronto.
 
quick question that may already have been answered

There are a lot of pages to flip back through so I thought I would just ask here......how does the Presto system work as it relates to the tax credit that the feds offer for monthly passes?

Does it?
 
TOareaFan said:
There are a lot of pages to flip back through so I thought I would just ask here......how does the Presto system work as it relates to the tax credit that the feds offer for monthly passes?

Does it?
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36 rides in a month on a single system and they send you a tax receipt.
 
RedRocket191 said:
36 rides in a month on a single system and they send you a tax receipt.
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IF you have a registered card. If you choose not to register, there is no way for them to send you the receipt.
Komiksulo said:
The Presto card needs a display. Any chance they'll build it into a cellphone?
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Not in this implementation. However there has been some talk of a Round 2 to enhance the system, and this will undoubtedly be where the TTC's requirements come in.

TTC is more interested in going with "open fare cards", meaning that you would be able to use a chipped credit/debit card as a Presto card. I can see the value but there is NO way I'm going to pull my credit card out every time I pay and take the risk of losing it.
 
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DavidH said:
TTC is more interested in going with "open fare cards", meaning that you would be able to use a chipped credit/debit card as a Presto card. I can see the value but there is NO way I'm going to pull my credit card out every time I pay and take the risk of losing it.
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I guess I use my cc too much.....I just got contacted by Amex to see if I would interested in their new pilot probram to have a chip implanted into my forehead so that I could just keep buying without having to get the card out!!! Never thought it would come in handy when riding the bus! ;)
 
lol it will be much more useful on your hand or something since you make contact with the card reader. Imagine bending 90 degrees everytime you ride

Komiksulo said:
The Presto card needs a display. Any chance they'll build it into a cellphone?
Click to expand...

You mean Presto doesn't have the little lcd/led screen that displays current balance and balance deducted?
 
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