[URBAN NOTE] "The Switch to Presto Could Make Life a Lot Harder for Seniors and Students"

[rfmcdonald]

I had intended to share this Torontoist post by Nikhil Sharma earlier. This is bad news for vulnerable TTC transit users.

Renz Gamboa uses the TTC every day. He’s a student who attends school in Toronto, and he used to purchase a Metropass for his commute.

He didn’t know about the discounted fares offered to students like him by the TTC through Presto, and when he heard about the reloadable transit card, he decided to buy one. But then he learned he had to travel to Davisville station to get his discount.

Presto is intended to make life easier for commuters in the GTA. But for students and seniors, both of whom are eligible for discounted fares, the new system could be inconvenient at best and inaccessible at worst.

The value of having Presto for seniors and students who routinely ride the TTC is that they’re able to add a concession on the self-service fare card. This is a feature that allows customers to apply discounts.

By default, the card is set to the adult fare, and in order to have their discount applied, riders only have one option: they have to visit Davisville station.