Presto-Change-O The new dawn of public transit

Hamiltonian's are now able to breeze aboard public transit with the wave of a little green card.Since May 4, Hamilton was the newest municipality to join the Presto system, a provincial program that allows transit users to pay transit fares in cities across the province with the same pre-loaded card.
No, more searching for change, or being ripped off for an extra dime per ticket at a convenience store,  fares automatically deducted by tapping their card on green readers recently installed in HSR buses.
Hamiltonian's are now able to use the Presto card to ride transit systems across the province — including in Burlington, Oakville, Brampton, Durham Region, Mississauga, Toronto and on GO Transit.

Eventually, Presto cards will replace tickets, transfers and other paper payment methods on the HSR  but won't replace cash fares. I bought my Presto card online at prestocard.ca it takes up to six business days to arrive so plan ahead or at the GO station at 36 Hunter St. in Hamilton. The card costs $15, renewable every five years, but the good thing is the card comes loaded with $10. You than have a week to use your card for the first time, once you do your card is automatically activated. You than can  load your card with as much as $1,000 using a secure system that allows an encrypted communication from Presto to your bank. You can have the money taken from your bank account or credit card. Fares will be automatically deducted from that total each time they tap their card. The system will also be able to detect the last time the card was used, which will allow HSR users to transfer onto different buses on their route without being charged twice.

However, some conspiracy theorists either due to complete ignorance or because the Presto sight isn't specific enough for individual cities. So I hope I can clear up some misinformation so these people can quit with "The MAN is out to get us all!!!" crap.

1.When you transfer between GO & HSR you get a credit for you trip. If you ride HSR and then get on a GO train, you are charged $1.50 less for your ride. When you ride on GO back to Hamilton, and get on HSR, you pay 50 cents. That's pretty cool. It's the same for Burlington & Oakville.

2.Once you register the card online, you can check the balance, load it up, and once you use it during a monthly period as a pass it will send you a tax receipt for that month automatically at the end of the year. I also know how much safer, I feel with it. I don't have to worry about losing it. Just like a credit card you report it missing and they give you a new one with the balance from the old card.

3.There's no Time Expiration  one poster wrote in the Hamilton Spectator: "It doesn't mention in the article ... you have to keep loading something on it every 30 days or you lose your existing balance." No you don't! You load, it stays on the card until you use it.

4.

Will a monthly pass via Presto ever be an option? How will transfers work between systems? Will current transfer prices be honoured? Will we be able to load our card online and immediately start using it on buses or do we have to tap at a balance checker first? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea (got my card almost a year ago), I just think there needs to be more communication.

With GO, once you've reached the price of a monthly pass, it stops charging you. As for the HSR, a monthly adult pass is $87.00, for the blue collar worker who uses the bus to get to work and a weekend shopping trip, Presto deducts $2.00 for a single ride, that's 43 fares, plenty for most and even better if there is a cap. To be updated.

5.

...and how would riders ever know if the machine has charged them too much/more than once? What kind of hoops would they have to jump through to get their money back? Sorry, I just don't trust machines that much - they have faults. I'll stick to my bus pass thank you. Good luck out there, everyone!

The Presto machines have a large display that shows the fare deducted plus the amount left on the card. Machines aren't evil quit watching the Sci-Fi network, my toaster has never wanted to kill me just burn my toast.


6.

do people have the money to load a card expensive for some to put out money all at once. but on other hand welfare that hands out tickets could use this system and how do you check your balance

You can load the card via the phone just as easy as the internet a few bucks at a time or with cash at the GO station if you don't have a bank account to debit.

7.The Presto is not becoming mandatory for all HSR passengers. The Presto is straightforward, convenient, allows you to avoid ticket line ups and has other good features. However, if you don't like it you don't have to use it, even on the GO Train.

8.This will and should take care of all of the people who like to use transfers that are hours old and then make a huge issue when the driver states that the transfer is not valid. They always make a huge issue and the driver is always looked at like he is doing something wrong when he is just trying to enforce the rules.

9.

Is this a stealth fare hike?  If it is designed to replace tickets some day, that means the days of buying discounted tickets in advance is done. The businesses that sell HSR tickets will likely be hurt, and the consumer will pay cash rate all the time? Classy way to hike the fare..

I hate to sound like I'm picking on these people, but this one is so bad. The Presto card is not trying to put the mom and pop store out of business, I don't think they make a huge amount from the extra nickle or dime they charge for each ticket. By discount tickets I assume you mean free welfare tickets, sorry can't help you there. Even those using the discounted passes designed for persons with low income the Presto card is still a great idea, you don't have to provide your income tax information every six months or stand a half hour in line on a Friday to get your card.

I hope this covers some of the misinformation out there, the Presto Card is one of the few great ideas the Province has come out with in a long time. Europe has had similar systems for decades using everything from a card to a cell phone and it has seen numerous benefits to cost and speed.


Later,
Kenaz