The union representing TTC workers is warning that the Presto fare card system is still plagued by reliability issues and isn’t capable of handling the influx of users expected when the agency discontinues the Metropass program next month. In a Dec. 4 letter sent to Premier Doug Ford, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 recounts a litany of problems with Presto devices he says have been observed by union members. He argues TTC workers rather than contractors hired by Presto should take responsibility for upkeep of the fare devices in order to improve reliability. “Unfortunately, Presto is not ready,” reads the letter, which is signed by ATU Local 113 president Frank Grimaldi and was obtained exclusively by the Star.“It is critical that Metrolinx, the TTC, and the Ontario government take immediate and urgent action to fix the Presto fare card system’s failures to ensure a smooth transition of Metropass users to the Presto fare card system.”Both TTC management and Metrolinx, which oversees the Presto system, counter the union’s assertion, saying the system is prepared for the switch.On Jan. 1, the TTC plans to end its Metropass program, which currently accounts for about 40 per cent of all trips on the system. Customers will be able to buy a monthly pass on their electronic Presto card instead, and about 200,000 customers are expected make the switch. Quoting anonymously from statements purportedly made by some of the union’s 11,500 transit workers, the letter says that malfunctioning fare card readers can mean that between 10 and 20 per cent of fares aren’t being paid during a typical bus driver’s shift. The union also asserts that it can take up to an hour for Presto fare readers to go live once a driver starts their vehicle, and reload machines at subway stations sometimes take customers’ money without putting any funds on their cards. The union also says it can take hours, days, ...
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