Almost three quarters of transit riders who use the Presto fare card system are satisfied with it, according to a new poll.

The fare card that is fast becoming the primary way to pay for transit across the Greater Toronto Area has come under scrutiny in recent years because of well-documented technical glitches and a user experience some customers find confusing.

But a poll of Torontonians conducted by Forum Research earlier this month found among the 58 per cent of respondents who said they have used Presto, 72 per cent were happy with it.

Thirty-five per cent said they were very satisfied with the experience, while 37 per cent said they were somewhat satisfied.

Just over one quarter said they were not satisfied. That included 16 per cent who said they were not satisfied at all.

While the numbers suggest a majority of riders like Presto once they start using it, there was less support for the TTC replacing more familiar forms of payment with the fare card.

Just over half, or 51 per cent, of all respondents to the poll said they approved of the transit agency phasing out tickets and tokens in favour of Presto. Thirty-five per cent said they disapproved of discontinuing tickets and tokens, and 14 per cent said they didn’t know.

Those numbers were consistent with results of a poll Forum conducted in September.

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Among respondents who hadn’t used Presto, a plurality, or 47 per cent, cited the fact they rarely take transit as the reason. Fifteen per cent said Presto isn’t convenient and 11 per cent cited cost of the card, for which riders usually have to pay $6. Eight per cent cited privacy concerns, while 14 per cent had an unspecified reason for not using Presto.

The smart card system is an initiative of the provincial government and in addition to the TTC is also used by GO Transit and nine other transit agencies in the GTA and Ottawa.

By 2021, the system is expected to have cost Queen’s Park $1.2 billion to install at participating agencies across the province.

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TTC signed on to Presto in 2011, under pressure from the then Ontario Liberal government. After several delays, the Toronto agency now says it plans to stop accepting tickets and tokens by Dec. 31, after which the fare card will be the main way riders are expected to pay. The TTC will stop selling tickets and tokens Aug. 3.

According to the latest figures, about 40 per cent of trips taken on the TTC are paid for with a Presto card.

Forum conducted the poll of 1,427 Toronto adults Jan. 15 to 17, using an interactive voice response telephone survey. Results based on the total sample are considered accurate plus or minus 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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