

Joshua Freeman, CP24.com





It may be last-minute, but Metrolinx says it will keep a commitment to begin expanding Presto Card technology on the TTC this month.

Presto card readers will start appearing on select TTC streetcars running along Spadina Avenue starting this Sunday, Metrolinx says.

Equipped streetcars will each have six readers where Presto users can tap their cards to pay their fares and two machines where they can tap again to obtain a proof of payment, which can be used as a transfer.

In keeping with the TTC’s switch to a proof-of-payment system, Presto riders will be able to board the equipped streetcars without stopping by the operator. There will also be off-board fare and transfer machines at major streetcar stops.

Customers can also expect to see ‘ambassadors’ on-hand to help people get used to the new system, as well as fare inspectors who will be able to use handheld readers to verify whether a card has actually tapped to pay for a ride.

“When you’re a transit rider, you kind of go into automation and so when you have to change behaviours, it takes time,” Metrolinx spokesperson Anne-Marie Aikins told cp24.com.

The Sunday launch date for the readers comes on the last day of the month, meaning that Metrolinx will just barely keep a commitment to start expanding the fare payment technology on the TTC in November.

As late as Tuesday, the agency said it still wasn’t sure exactly when the rollout would begin, though it promised to start by the end of the week.

As part of its expansion on the TTC, Metrolinx has said Presto card readers would be installed at some subway stations and on some streetcars starting this fall, beginning with the 510 Spadina, 511 Bathurst, 509 Harbourfront and 505 Dundas routes.

In an update on the integration of the Presto system back in April, TTC CEO Andy Byford said Presto readers would be available on the city’s new streetcars starting Nov. 3. However that date came and went with no new readers installed.

TTC Spokesperson Brad Ross told cp24.com last week that the TTC is ready on its end and said the rollout of the Presto technology is being determined by Metrolinx.

Aikins told cp24.com Tuesday that the agency was not bound by the Nov. 3 date and has always aimed to begin the rollout sometime in November.

Asked about the timeline for the rollout Tuesday, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca also said the plan is “on-track.”

“This is a big project,” Del Duca told CP24 at a news conference announcing a new community transportation program. “Fully integrating Presto with the TTC is the next big goal or objective that we need to accomplish. The team at Metrolinx is working very hard with the TTC to make sure that we get that rolled out.”

He added “My understanding is that we’re on-track to deliver according to the timeline and I know that the team will keep working hard.”

‘Slow and steady’ rollout preferred

Meant to offer a way to seamlessly move between different regional and local transit systems, Presto has been widely adopted by Go Transit users and some smaller municipalities in the province.

It allows users to add credit to an account online and then tap their card at a reader to pay for a trip.

However the service has faced a number of hurdles in coming to the country’s largest transportation system.

Planning has taken years with multiple delays and occasional bickering among politicians about how the system should be implemented.

Smaller glitches have also been a source of frustration for some customers. On Tuesday, the Presto website was down for about an hour-and-a-half, prompting complaints on social media from customers who weren’t able to add credit to their cards.

The service has also faced frequent questions from those who use the TTC about when card readers will be installed at all subway stations and on-board buses and streetcars.

With many transit riders eager to stop carrying tokens in an age when almost everything can be paid for digitally, Aikins said she appreciates the fact that some customers are anxious to see the rollout happen faster. But she said Metrolinx has learned that slower is better, especially when dealing with a complex system.

“The TTC is the largest system we’ve ever done and it is very complex,” Aikins said, noting there are multiple vehicle types to accommodate as well as a number of stations that are dealing with ongoing construction. “What we have learned from our other rollouts is that a slow and steady rollout will be more successful.”

She said implementing the system is more difficult than simply installing the machines.

Still, she said the TTC is already seeing a growing number of people who are making use of the technology.

“Even with just 14 stations, we have 40,000 taps a day on the TTC,” Aikins said.

She said that Metrolinx is confident that Presto will soon make commuting smoother for customers.

“Soon people will see it everywhere and it will make their commuting just that much more convenient,” Aikins said. “Metrolinx is working really closely with the TTC – they’re great partners. We do appreciate all the hard work people have put into this.”

However with no exact schedule for the rollout, PC transportation critic Michael Harris said commuters have already waited too long for improved payment options.

“Commuters in the GTA have been promised this for almost a decade,” Harris said. “I think folks are just getting fed up as to when they’ll be able to come into the 21st century and pay for fares using modern day technology that exists in other major cities.”

Rollout will eventually add card readers to streetcar lines, ‘core downtown’ stations

The streetcar launch of Presto is part of what Metrolinx refers to as the “Wave 1” of the Presto rollout across the TTC. As part of that rollout, new Presto terminals will be installed at an additional 11 subway stations.

Aikins said Wave 1 will add Presto service to a number of core downtown stations: King, Queen, Sheppard, Broadview, Scarborough Centre, St. Andrew, Osgoode, Museum, Bathurst, Dundas West and Davisville.

There is no clear timeline for the rollout at the stations yet, but Aikins said she expects ‘at least a couple’ to be outfitted with Presto card readers before the end of this year.

A new reader was already installed at Spadina Station in October in order to support the Presto rollout on streetcars. When Wave 1 is complete, 26 of the TTC’s 65 subway stations will be equipped with the card readers. However, Aikins said she doesn’t have a timeline for when Wave 1 is going to be completed.

As part of the rollout, all the existing Presto readers installed at TTC stations in 2009 as part of the initial pilot project will be replaced with newer readers that will allow customers to add credit to their cards. That work is already underway.

@Josh_F is on Twitter. Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.