You can purchase cards on their behalf, but you can't set them to Student, they will just be basic adult cards. To change them to Student cards, your kids will first need to register their cards/create accounts (you can potentially do this for them, online); then they each personally have to go to a customer service outlet (Davisville, any GO station, the 10 new Shoppers Drug Mart outlets, etc.) with the appropriate ID, and have the card set to Student.
I'm not entirely sure if this is true. I was tweeting with TTCHelps on Saturday, as I was on my way to Union with child, and just healthcare card, and they were saying I needed photo ID for my 4-year old. Given that Ontario doesn't put photos on healthcare cards until the age of 16, it seems a bizarre requirement.
Also this was a brand new card - I'm still trying to register it, etc. (odd, I tapped it on a streetcar this morning, which should have finished the process - though I guess not 24 hours yet).
Still, I went up to the counter at Union GO - and not only did they say they didn't need photo ID. They didn't need ANY id. I didn't even need the child. When they found out he was 4, they simply changed his birth year from 2012 to 2010 to kludge the computer, and told me to come back in 2 to 7 years to fix it.
I'm not sure that the TTC is launching student-specific cards. I know they were throwing around the idea of having cards with photo ID, but at this point I think that would only be necessary for post-secondary students, since the student fare category has become much less rigid (just 13-19 years of age now). That's still pretty nebulous and not guaranteed to happen, and there's no way to know that every student would definitely have to buy a new card--that would cause public outrage, I'm sure.
Hard to say. They still won't set Presto to child or student at Davisville, and they didn't sell student or post-secondary student passes on-line.
I'm scratching my head how they go to Photo requirements for kids Presto cards, if they don't have them anywhere else. How is that enforceable. If it was enforced, what could the penalty be, given it's free anyways for children - and for any other age bracket, they are still paying the correct amount. I can't see any court enforcing payment of a fine, if the correct fare was paid!
All a bit odd.
I went and programmed my card using my health card as ID but I believe a passport will do as well. I'm surprised your kids don't have student ID cards since every school in my area including mine needs one.
Even if they did, High School does only cover 4 years of the 19-year eligibility for discounted or free fares.
Do you need any ID for student? Seems odd to require photo ID for a 13-year old, as many wouldn't have a passport, and getting one would cost $57, which is quite a barrier. Most people are 14-15 when they start Grade 9. So there's a gap there.
I'll take them to the Shoppers on Queen to get set up.
I don't think you need to bring the kid with you. Heck, based on the child Presto, you may not need anything but to remember their birthdate! Though perhaps Shoppers plays by different rules than GO. You keep talking about driving to work - do you go near a GO station? At
http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/fares/presto.aspx the only talk of needing ID, is for post-secondary students.
Edit - oh, this might be relevant. TTC have updated
http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Fare_information/Seniors_students_and_children/index.jsp to say "You will be required to show your child’s birth certificate or passport when setting a child fare on a PRESTO card at Shoppers Drug Mart."
But that's certainly not necessary at GO Transit. So student fares might be different too. My suggestion is to simply go alone to a GO station - preferably Union, as they are the best trained.