More Big News for GTA Transit Users
Published March 5, 2018 at 2:58 pm
There’s a new way to pay when commuting in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ottawa.
Commuters will soon be able to buy and top-up Presto cards at a major retailer.
Shoppers Drug Mart locations across those cities and towns will be offering the service, the province announced Monday.
The announcement was made by Minister of Transportation Kathryn McGarry and Vaughan MPP Steven Del Duca at a Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill.
“Making transit more convenient is key to increasing ridership and managing congestion in our communities,” said McGarry.
Metrolinx will bring Presto to five Shoppers Drug Mart locations in York Region, starting March 5, with an additional 24 locations added in March.
Videos
Oakville, Durham Region, and Ottawa will follow in April, with Mississauga and Brampton in June, and Hamilton and Burlington in July,.
Riders will also be able to buy passes for any transit agency at any of the participating locations. This means, for example, a customer can purchase a TTC monthly pass at a Shoppers Drug Mart in York Region.
More than half of the locations are expected to be online by August. A second phase will bring services to all remaining locations across all participating municipalities.
“We’re pleased with the rollout of PRESTO to date, and know our customers appreciate this offering and the ability to save time in their days,” said Shoppers Drug Mart’s senior director of category management Ken Kirkwood.
“Today’s announced expansion brings more convenience to more customers in the province.”
Once complete, there will be nearly 400 additional Shoppers Drug Mart locations across the GTHA where commuters can buy, load and set discounts on their PRESTO cards.
REAL QUICK
- Presto is an electronic, reloadable fare card, based on smart-card technology that allows customers to use a single fare payment method across 11 transit systems in the GTHA and Ottawa: Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, GO Transit, Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), MiWay, Oakville Transit, OC Transpo, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), UP Express and York Region Transit/Viva (YRT/Viva).
- There are more than 3.6 million activated Presto cards across these 11 transit systems.
- This expansion will see Presto card services roll out to an additional 290 locations for a total of 383 Shoppers Drug Mart locations in PRESTO-enabled municipalities in the GTHA and Ottawa. A list of Presto retail outlets is available at prestocard.ca
Source: Ministry of Transportation
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising