TTC struggling with Presto fare gate capacity
(The Star Toronto Raptors)

With just months to go before the TTC intends to shift its 1.8 million daily customers onto the Presto fare card system, the transit agency is struggling to get a software platform in place that has enough capacity to support the new payment method.The problem lies with the Presto fare gates that the TTC has been installing in its subway stations. As the agency has rolled out more of them across the system, they’ve overloaded the capacity of the existing software platform, causing a glitch that means the TTC is often unable to detect when a gate fails.TTC spokesperson Heather Brown said that has made it difficult for the agency to quickly fix gates that go out of service, meaning some of the devices remain out of commission for longer than they should.“We do need the ability to monitor it more. I don’t know what the percentage of gates truly out of service (is),” she said, noting that the problem has “been a bit of an ongoing issue” since the TTC began replacing its old turnstiles with Presto fare gates in 2016. Brown said that by its nature it was difficult to determine how many fare gates are affected by the problem. She acknowledged the issue was “troubling” but said it wouldn’t affect the TTC’s switch to Presto. She noted that when gates are in service they have no problem processing transactions.“I’m confident as we’re working very closely with the gate manufacturer that we’ll get this solved and we’ll be fully ready at the end of this year when everything is fully implemented over to Presto.”The Presto system, which allows riders to pay their fares with the tap of a fare card, is owned and operated by Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency for the Toronto and Hamilton region. Its deployment on the TTC is complex however. While Metrolinx is responsible for Presto card readers on TTC buses and streetcars, as well as reload and fare vending devices throughout the ...