New PRESTO devices are now available in the 905 area
Published January 25, 2021 at 1:10 pm
Many of the local transit agencies in the GTHA have been using PRESTO for years now and most their machines were nearly a decade old.
That includes Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, GO Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, MiWay, Oakville Transit, UP Express and York Region Transit/Viva.
Metrolinx decided to change that and to start replacing those old PRESTO devices with new ones.
According to their website, the new units have a sleek, new design and a larger screen that shows information in a more clear and intuitive way, making it more user friendly.
The new device also has updated technology which will make it easier to accept credit and debit cards, and even mobile wallets when the option becomes available.
These new forms of payment will be available first on UP Express early this year and will extend to additional transit agencies later on.
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Customers will also see a barcode reader on the new devices, just below the card reader and this means the new devices will soon have the capability to accept PRESTO E-Tickets.
New PRESTO devices were recently rolled out at UP Express stations.
PRESTO E-Tickets are currently available on Durham Region Transit and Hamilton Street Railway and are expected to expand to more transit agencies in the next few months.
Currently, PRESTO E-Tickets are verified by operators viewing the activated ticket on a rider’s phone but customers will soon be able to scan their E-tickets on the new devices.
Metrolinx will let customers on participating transit agencies know when this is available so they can use their E-Tickets to ‘tap on’ with their mobile phones.
The new devices are designed to process one card at a time, so only tap your PRESTO card against the reader (not your whole wallet) to complete the payment.
There are multiple ways for riders to add money to their PRESTO cards, including a few instant load options.
The PRESTO App is the fastest with NFC-enabled capability.
Riders can also load money using self-serve devices and certain stores like Shoppers Drug Mart.
The new methods should help customers load funds faster to their cards.
Funds will now be added in as little as two hours, reduced from up to 24 hours, when using prestocard.ca or the non-NFC version of the PRESTO app.
If you have an NFC enabled phone you can load your card instantly using the PRESTO app from anywhere and the app is still the fastest way to load money and add passes to your account.
The new station devices for GO, UP and York Region Transit customers have a ‘Mode Button’ that can be used to check the balance.
GO and UP customers can also press the button to reverse a tap and GO customers can also use it to override a default trip.
The new station devices also have an ‘Audio Button’ which will provide oral instructions for customers with visual disabilities.
The audio mode is accessed by inserting a 3.5mm headset jack into the receptacle to the right of the button and the Audio Button can be used to adjust the volume of the spoken instructions.
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