Presto card

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The Presto card, originally known as the GTA Farecard, is a smartcard-based fare payment system introduced in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on June 25, 2007. Implementation is to be conducted in phases. In July 2007, 500 commuters who normally commute from Meadowvale and Cooksville GO stations in Mississauga to Union Station in downtown Toronto will receive a free card and try the system under Launch 1.[1] Because Mississauga has a neighbourhood shuttle service in Meadowvale and Cooksville to ferry passengers to GO Transit, officials say it's the perfect environment to test the fare system. Most of the implementation will be completed by 2010, giving the Greater Toronto Area's local and regional transit operators a single fare-payment system to replace the current mixture of passes, tickets, tokens, and cash-based systems. The GTA operations area covers over 8,100 square kilometres, and is home to about 5.5 million transit riders.

The province has announced Accenture will be contracted to implement the card system.[2] Metrolinx will be responsible for administering the fare card.

The Presto card can be used at:

From late 2008, the Presto card will be expanded to these locations:

By 2010, the Presto card will expand to the rest of the suburban Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, including:

While all other transit systems in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton will have the card fully implemented, the Toronto Transit Commission had expressed concerns over the cost to implement the card system[3]. Therefore, the card will only be used at five of the TTC's major subway stations by 2010. As the majority of commuters in the GTA use the TTC, this will greatly limit the use of the fare card to the smaller suburban systems.

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[edit] How to use

The cards are available at transit depots, retail outlets, and online for $5. At the time of receiving the card, a pass or a money value of at least $20 must be loaded into the card. This system is more advanced than others because rather than just money values, passes (up to three per transit system at a time) can also be stored in the card. When boarding, riders tap the prepaid card, embedded with a computer chip, on a reader. The reader will check for either the pass's expiry date, or automatically deduct the fare from the card. The fact that the cards work on multiple transit systems is only one of their advantages. While the Presto card is automatically set for adult fares, the card can also be set for fares of a different category. A feature allows more value to be added before the card runs out. Lost cards of registered users remain active within 24 hours after reporting the loss. After that, the lost card is blocked and a replacement card holding the money value or pass(es) of the lost card is given to the user with a replacement fee of $5. If there isn't enough money on the card for the journey, a user may still ride on once, as long as the balance of the card isn't $0 or lower. However, the card will have a negative balance and a small fee will apply. The card will let you board for the lowest available fare and will have a loyalty program offering savings to frequent travellers.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Launch 1. Queens Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  2. ^ Accenture selected for GTA fare card project. Ontario Ministry of Transportation (2006-10-12). Retrieved on 2006-10-13.
  3. ^ Kuitenbrouwer, Peter. "City Hall unhappy with region's transit plan", National Post, 2006-10-13. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 

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