As TTC riders prepare to trade their tokens for the Presto fare card by 2015, some loyal GO commuters are still mourning their forced conversion to the new electronic system.

GO is discontinuing its monthly paper passes in the new year, converting the last faithful users to Presto or single-ride tickets. Metrolinx, the provincial agency that operates GO, has made it clear that resistance is futile. The paper passes aren’t coming back, even though TTC riders are expected to be able to load a pass or a similar bulk fare on their Presto cards.

For those dissatisfied with the new system, officials promise improvements are on the way as Ottawa and the TTC expand Presto’s functionality, upgrades that will gradually be added to GO and 905-area transit systems that were the early Presto adapters.

Brampton GO commuter Dan Turner is one of the hold-outs dreading the new year.

He tried Presto but went back to the paper pass after a couple of bad experiences. He was late to work because his card went into a negative balance and locked him out. His train left while he was waiting at the service desk behind four other customers with card problems in Brampton.

“I do not want to be stuck in a customer service line after the phase-out (of the passes) when all of those new Presto users have issues, simply because you are reducing our payment options,” he said.

“I’m going to make sure mine’s loaded up way before the first of the year,” said Turner.

“The fact that online payments need 24 hours to clear is ludicrous,” Turner continued. “The fact that you must go to a customer service representative whenever there is a problem does not scream ‘convenient’ to me.”

That requirement is particularly irksome for Turner because he uses the Bloor GO station, where there is no customer service agent.

“Presto is here to stay. I’m not trying to get rid of it. I just wish it was a little more flexible,” he said.

There are 400,000 Presto cards in circulation and the number has been increasing by about 22,000 a month since GO announced it was discontinuing its 2- and 10-ride passes in August. With the elimination of monthly GO passes and the deployment of Presto in Ottawa and on the TTC, there will be more than 2 million people using the card in a few years, said Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig.

“Once we finish the discontinuance of the monthly pass, we’ll have upwards of 90 per cent of our passenger base on Presto,” he said.

He confirmed last week that there are no plans to reinstate a monthly GO pass.

“GO decided from a business perspective they wanted to provide a loyalty based system that gave people discounts the more they used the system. For all those monthly pass users, it will be as cheap or cheaper to use a Presto card,” he said.

Because many commuters miss at least one day a month on transit because they had to drive to a meeting or were out of town or sick, they actually over-pay for a monthly pass, said McCuaig.

But Metrolinx officials say they are sympathetic to some Presto complaints: Among them, the 24 hours it can take to register online cash deposits into a Presto account.

“We’re looking at ways we can get value loaded on cards online in real time,” said Robert Hollis, managing director and executive vice-president. “The current system is designed in a way that readers aren’t updated until you get back to a garage in the 905 area, and then you’ve got this 24-hour delay. In Ottawa we’re using a cell network which is speeding up the ability to get loads to register, and we’re looking even further for the TTC, how we can shorten up that cycle.”

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Presto Next Generation

The newer version of the Presto card being adapted by Ottawa and the TTC will include more functions and easier use.

As the first generation of cards and readers expire they will gradually be replaced with the newer features and some of the improvements listed here could be available sooner:

• A reduction in the 24-hour time lag to register new value loaded on the cards

• More self-serve kiosks in stations

• Mobile payments. Not only will Presto users be able to pay using credit and debit cards, but eventually chip-enabled mobile devices will also be available

• More accessibility. Presto devices already include some accessible features such as specialized audio tones, common symbology, and tactile controls that were able to be implemented on the devices at the time. Future designs will improve these features with larger screens, more tactile indicators and audio jacks on a broader range of devices.

• Mobile apps

• Email-based logins, rather than online access through the long Presto card number, and the ability to manage several cards under one account.

The fact that Presto helps track the routes and times favoured by riders will make it possible to compile a database that helps transit agencies “slice and dice” to enhance their service planning, said Robert Hollis, managing director and executive vice-president.

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