Malfunctioning Presto devices resulted in 1.4 million free rides on the TTC over two years, according to estimates from the transit agency.

Numbers obtained through a freedom of information request, as well as additional figures provided to the Star by the TTC, show the transit agency has calculated that failing fare card machines on vehicles and in subway stations led to customers taking 579,970 trips without paying in 2016, and 864,705 trips in 2017.

The unpaid journeys represent a small fraction of the more than one billion rides TTC customers took over those two years, but each one represents forgone revenue for the transit agency.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green noted the 1.4 million unpaid trips are the equivalent of 1.3 per cent of all journeys using Presto cards over that same period.

The TTC argues that under the terms of a 2012 agreement, Metrolinx, the provincial agency that owns and operates Presto, must pay it back for any revenue lost as a result of faulty fare card devices.

“Metrolinx has a contractual obligation to compensate TTC for these revenue losses,” said Green.

“We continue to work with Metrolinx to resolve issues that have emerged, including on the revenue side,” he said, noting that the Presto deployment remains “very much a work in progress.”

The TTC started invoicing Metrolinx for revenue “leakage” caused by Presto last July, and has billed the agency for $4.2 million in forgone fare proceeds over the two-year period.

It has also sent Metrolinx invoices totalling $2.5 million for maintenance and other tasks its workers have performed on Presto infrastructure.

Metrolinx has yet to pay any of those bills, and a blunt statement issued by agency CEO Phil Verster on Friday gave no indication it intended to do so in the foreseeable future.

“Metrolinx was never given any facts or substantiation of these alleged free rides, thus we have (as always) focused on our Presto and TTC customers and their satisfaction,” Verster said.

He said Metrolinx would consider any “commercial issues” with the TTC “on an ongoing basis and as normal business.”

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The TTC’s lost fare calculations take into account malfunctioning Presto devices on buses, streetcars, and subway fare gates. They also factor in Metrolinx-owned single-ride vending machines, which are on the agency’s new streetcars and at some streetcar stops, and allow riders to get proof of payment when paying with cash, debit or credit, or when using a token.

Presto devices have been installed on all streetcars and buses, and at a minimum of one entrance to every subway station, since the end of 2016. Card readers on buses and streetcars in particular were initially dogged by reliability problems, but the TTC and Metrolinx say they’ve mostly been corrected.

But even as device reliability has improved, the number of “lost taps” has increased, and there were more free rides in 2017 than the year before.

Green said that’s because as more customers switch from older forms of payment to Presto, the number of free rides caused by a malfunctioning reader also increases. Roughly 30 per cent of all TTC trips are now paid for using Presto.

According to the TTC’s estimates, Presto devices on buses made up the largest portion of lost taps over two years, accounting for nearly half the total at roughly 714,000. Readers on older-model streetcars led to 476,300 unpaid journeys, while Presto machines mounted on subway turnstiles accounted for 146,800. There were also a smaller number of lost taps from devices on the new streetcars and single-ride vending machines.

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The TTC’s full conversion to Presto has been delayed. After saying it would phase out tickets and tokens this year, the TTC now plans to continue accepting older fare media through to the end of 2019.

According to the most recent published figures, Metrolinx is paying at least $385 million to install Presto on the TTC, $130 million more than a previous estimate. The TTC is paying $60.9 million for Presto fare gates in subway stations, an $11-million increase from earlier projections.

Despite earlier assurances that Presto wouldn’t lead to additional costs for the TTC compared to the conventional fare system, a June report revealed it is now expected to cost millions of dollars more each year.

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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