[URBAN NOTE] "Tokens give way to Presto starting next year on TTC"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Tess Kalinowski reports on how the Presto card is going to replace token on the TTC as part of the general plan to integrate regional transit systems. I'm pleased by this, but especially by the news that the Metropass will survive. I depend on that fixed-rate travel hugely.

The TTC will begin phasing out the sale of tickets and tokens next year as it progresses with the wide-scale roll-out of the Presto smart card.

The old fare media will be sold until the end of 2016 and accepted until mid-2017. But at some point, those tickets and tokens will be phased out completely, said TTC chief customer officer Chris Upfold.

“There will be vending machines in every station so you’ll walk over to the vending machine, use your debit or your credit card or you put cash in there and you will load up on your Presto card which you then tap on at the subway or the streetcar,” he said.

Riders will also be able to buy a Metropass or a quantity of trips the same way, although how those bulk buys will work has not yet been decided. There will be a report discussing possible solutions in November.

Eliminating the tickets and tokens is the only way to ensure most customers convert to Presto, he told the TTC board on Monday.