Everybody wants a piece of the TTC's payment action

The specs for the TTC's open fare payment system have been requested by no fewer than 68 parties, including major credit card companies, banks and even Accenture, the company that won the $250 million contract to design the province's rival transit farecard, Presto, which the TTC doesn't want to install.

Some of those names, ranging from newspaper reporters to Metrolinx officials, aren't likely to register as official bidders. But it will be Monday before the TTC publicly announces which companies on the long list are making a serious play for the business, worth about $900 million annually.

The business opportunity is extreme, given that TTC ridership continues to climb and the Canadian market for micro-payments is only going to expand. Transit fares are considered a great gateway to convincing more of us to convert to the so-called contactless credit and debit card for those small purchases we're now transacting in cash.

"The card is the same card you use to buy your newspaper and coffee," Mastercard vice-president Cathleen Conforti told The Toronto Star this summer in a phone interview from her New York office.

She wasn't coy about the company's interest in the TTC and used the Mastercard experience on New York transit by way of example.

"You can use your card to go buy a Metrocard. You register for your monthly pass and give them your credit card information and you tap with your card every day and the payment platform knows you have that. The most important thing we're supplying is the convenience for the consumer," she said.

And there's no hassle for the rider in terms of converting to a special credit card, said Comforti.

"Over 99 per cent of active cards are PayPass enabled. In Canada you do not have an issue in enabling consumer cards. Globally,... it is a feature everybody wants on their card," she said.

Her company, which is on the TTC list, has been involved in transit for years in Salt Lake City, Paris, Liverpool, Warsaw and Taiwan.

Comments

[Stuckon transit]

Why doesn't the TTC understand, that not everybody has or wants to use a credit card of any type. When a rider purchases tokens they have to pay cash - no credit or debit allowed. It's time for the TTC to think about riders of all income levels.

[Chris]

I have one problem with the proposed TTC pass versus the Presto card and that is all of the potential, future transaction fees that financial institutions will impose upon the consumer. So if I take the TTC every day to work, that's 10 trips a week, 40 trips a month. What is to stop an opportunistic financial institution from imposing future transaction fees on the consumer. Most bank plans have a limited amount of "free" transactions per month. Now add 40 new transactions a month and banks will want to impose some new charges because of all of the work they do.

[K.H.]

What about a sliding fee for low income earners, people on disability or employment insurance? There are reduced fares for children, students & senior citizens & not to sound insulting but their rumps take up the same seat as anyone else's.
I understand that people who are legally blind can ride for free.
But the rest of us (I'm on disability) must pay the same as someone earning $50 grand a year. We must use the service to get to Dr. appts, pick up groceries, etc., & the unemployed probably use the service more regularly when they are attending interviews during their job search. Why don't we get a break?
It's not just the TTC. Other transit services (in outlying cities) need to make the same adjustments. I don't want to see everyone else picking up the tab for this, don't get me wrong, but all other services are accessible to to everyone's needs. Public transit should be too - both physically & financially.

[Chris]

Ok, I am off to work, about to enter the TTC station and "transaction denied" for single fare transaction. Something is wrong with my bank account, overdrawn, pay did not get deposited, loan payment made, spouse overdrawn on joint acount. Now what, no credit card, have to get to work, no money in account to draw from for that single transaction. If I paid in advance for the month/week I would not have to worry.

[Steve7221]

Paying directly with a credit card basically allows your movements to be tracked almost real time. Payment with a token, or transit card and you're still an anonymous rider.

[My 2 cents worth]

There are going to be problems which are beyond the TTCs ability to resolve. All that money will be spent to make the system accept these payments when that money could be better spent to improve the service.

[Will]

Chris: It's not the TTC's fault you can't manage your money. It'd be the same situation if you wanted to go shopping with your debit card and you got denied because "Something is wrong with my bank account, overdrawn, pay did not get deposited, loan payment made, spouse overdrawn on joint acount".

If you dont' like the idea, go buy tokens ahead of time like you normally do!!!

And I quote from TheStar,“We as a commission are committed to moving toward an open payment system,” using riders’ existing cards, while still giving them the option of paying with cash or tokens, said TTC vice-chair Joe Mihevc"

[Sharon]

What I don't understand is PRESTO already has funding. It's already in use. It's good, up-to-date technology. Why in the world is the TTC charging ahead with this despite popular public opinion not to? And who will be paying for it (because the province won't be)? Oh yeah.

[prize maple]

I was in Manhattan last summer and used their excellent smart card system, which is apparently just like the Presto. I can tell you that it was convenient, compact, easy to use and understand. The ticket is no bigger than an old-fashioned TTC ticket and has a magnetic strip you swipe at the turn-styles. You load onto it as much as you want at any given time. Why the TTC does not want this is beyond me. I would not feel comfortable flashing my credit card every time I used the TTC. There are far too many scams out there.

[leeland]

wait.. do people think that there will be only 1 way to pay for access to transit? You will have the option to use the new system and TTC will keep the ticket/cash options in place. The union will not let the workers in the collection booths to loose jobs

[Alan Lukachko]

How much is Accenture making on this deal and what are they going to get on an ongoing basis?

[@dandmb50 - Daniel .. Toronto]

@dandmb50 - PRESTO kicked off in May 2010 and still problems with activation.
Maybe the TTC knows what I found out, it's very difficult to activate a PRESTO card and there is no info on their website how to do it, unless you are using GO train. If they can't organize it before they start, and 5 months later, maybe we should look at other options.
Why is the mainstream media not talking about this problem? If you purchase a PRESTO card that is one of the first things you need to know, how to activate the card and yet there is nothing on their website that explains how to do it.

Daniel .. Toronto
http://bit.ly/dueVZZ

[The Duffer]

Aaa Haa ... now we know why the province was slapping the TTC on the wrist yesterday about wanting to exploring other payment options besides presto. As in, the provincial gov't is paying Accenture $250 million to develop the PRESTO card. Of course Accenture and McGuinty don't want anybody else horning in on the action - there's GOLD in them thar' Transit cards!

[Chris]

Anything is better than what we have now. I don't trust that the TTC will make the "right" decision, they lost crediblity since they are so backwards compared to other cities, some in third world countries. Vending machines that do not work, waiting in line to buy a fare, pulling out your cash, speaking against a piece of glass to an agent who make more than I do with an open novel.

[statismwatch]

And the slippery slide towards the cashless society continues.

From metals to paper to credit to the monetization of debt, how long before non-traceable transactions are fully phased out? There has to be a bulwark against going to a fully electronic cash system, and I for one won't be buying into it. In the (very) long run, I see it as too much of a threat to liberty.

[HG]

We're paying for PRESTO as well. Where do you think the province gets it's money from?

Plus -PRESTO isn't up-to-date technology anyways. It's 20 year old tech.

Lastly, the TTC should make this decision since it's the largest transit network and has multiple modes of transit that other parts of the province don't have.

[Diane]

London transit in the UK have a card system that charges you each time you travel then, overnight, it calculates the best daily fare based on all your journeys during the day. It adds the difference back onto your card balance!
Now THAT is customer service!
Not quite sure what the TTC are going after......but customer service likely isn't on the list.

[Ish]

I have no intention of EVER using my credit card for tap-and-go purchases - for anything, including transit. Nor do I have any intention of incurring 'transaction fees' on top of my TTC fare... the banks have enough money.

[Dalamar Evans]

Why are people getting so bent out of shape? This is a great option. Welcome to 21st century credit cards are used as a widely form of payment. If your poor or paranoid in that they've implanted some nefarious GPS device into your credit card just pay cash. For they guy complaining about debit card transaction limits. Here is a solution use a credit card - you can make a thousand transactions and not pay a dime for them. I think the complaining has a lot to do with bad financial managment and a lack of discpline.

[James]

Some of these comments seem a little paranoid to me. There is nothing in this that suggests that are going to eliminate tokens or cash fares. While the new system will likely be adopted by many people, tokens (or something like them) will probably continue to be used for a long time.

[Kevo]

If the system works alongside Presto, I'm all for it. Personally, if I want to travel to my parents house in Burlington, I can hop on the GO with it, or I want to visit a friend in York, it's easy. As a whole, the Presto would be great for constant riders and those that switch between transit systems (the usual suburban commuter, and many of them already have Presto cards), while the contactless payment would be great for casual riders, tourists, etc.

[drewskee67]

Nobody--certainly not TTC--has come up with a single concrete reason for not implementing Presto. Presto will be able to accept credit/debit cards in a few years, but it would allow people to pay faster now. New York has had the Metrocard for over 20 years; when it began, there were no transfers from subway to bus. Now that's a basic Metrocard feature, and any revenue loss from elimination of double payment has been more than offset by total ridership increase. In Toronto, imagine how much faster service could be if fare payment on busy service lines was mostly by waving or tapping a card. Faster boarding--with off-vehicle payment on the busiest lines--means the same number of drivers and vehicles can make more trips, with a lower cost per passenger. TTC seem intent on making things as difficult as possible for the riders, dangling a maybe-better "open payment" system for an unspecified future date, when there's something functional already available.

[Mark_dowling]

"Over 99 per cent of active cards are PayPass enabled." says the Mastercard rep. Sucks for you if you only have VISA, AMEX, or Interac though, right?