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blogcutterNOTE: Part 1 in this series was posted on May 30. If you're looking at my last 20 entries, it will be on the same page - for a while, at least.
Here's a quote from an article by David Reevely in today's Citizen: "The Presto system has squeezed some of the human generosity out of the transit system." Hmm, do good transit systems just naturally "contain" human generosity that can be squeezed out? And the transit-riders hung out to dry or taken to the cleaners or whatever? I think maybe that's just a jargony way of saying that a lot of transit users, while initially and for some time willing to give the Presto system a try, are by now fed up with the seemingly endless series of glitches they've been forced to endure. "Enough, already!" they are exclaiming.
The article mentions that less than 5% of users have set up auto-load features, either for monthly passes or top-up of cash balances (the so-called "e-purse"). Well, let me share my auto-load story with you.
I noted in my May 30 entry that I intended to register my card by snail-mail, after a frustrating time trying (and failing) to do it online, and another frustrating session using their eminently satirizable touch-tone-phone-tree. Since I was sending in THAT form (to register my PRESTO card), I decided to also include another form requesting an automatic top-up whenever my balance fell beyond a certain point. After all, both forms were supposed to be sent to the same address - what could possibly go wrong?
I was soon to find out.
Quite quickly after sending in the forms, I got an e-mail thanking me for registering and providing me with a 4-digit PIN. Great! Since I was registered, I figured they must have incorporated my auto-load request into my profile somehow. Though I still couldn't log in online because, it seemed, I hadn't selected a "user name". Efforts to try my e-mail address or name or initials as user name, together with my PIN as password, were in vain. I tried again by phone and this time did somehow manage to access a real person - but although she was pleasant and patient enough, her instructions (which for various reasons I had to carry out AFTER the call had ended) did not yield the desired results. Oh well, I figured I'd just keep on using my card and hoping for the best.
I went to Music and Beyond. I went to Chamberfest. On the way to one of the concerts, my PRESTO card was rejected for insufficient funds. Turned out the auto-load was NOT activated. So I went back to going to the Rideau Centre and topping up my card in person. That worked, although I didn't get any helpful advice from the folks there other than the recommendation that I send in a new autoload request form. I filed that in my file-13-purgatory file for possible future reference.
Then, some weeks later (I think it was early in August), I got a phone-call at home from "private number". Now, the great thing about call-display is you can decide if you want to answer calls or not. I practically never answer calls from 1-800 or 1-888 numbers, but with "private number" it's sort of hit-and-miss as to whether I answer them or not. If I'm busy at the time, I don't, unless I'm expecting a call or think it could be urgent; if I'm not busy, I might. Well, this time I answered.
It was someone from PRESTO, explaining that my auto-load request could not be activated because I'd requested some invalid amount on it. I think I'd asked that it be topped up if the balance fell below $10, but it had to be at least $20. Or something. How to remedy it? Send in another form, of course. Unless I wanted to try my luck online again, which I didn't.
After sighing and stewing for a few days, I did fill in another form, being very careful to follow all the instructions to the letter - and the number. For the next few weeks, I carefully checked my balance every time I paid my fare. And miracle of miracles, I saw my balance dip and rise again. My credit-card statement a while later confirmed that this time, the automatic top-up had worked. Hallelujah!
When I went to Toronto in mid-September, I thought I might try out my card to see if it was working yet with their PRESTO system. But whenever I happened to see their card-readers, it was when I'd already gotten through the turnstile with my subway token. And maybe I should be sure it's really going to work before I try using it in Toronto - I'd hate for their machinery to somehow "eat" my card after all the trouble I've gone to to get this far! My next planned trip to Toronto is in November, so we shall see...
Here's a quote from an article by David Reevely in today's Citizen: "The Presto system has squeezed some of the human generosity out of the transit system." Hmm, do good transit systems just naturally "contain" human generosity that can be squeezed out? And the transit-riders hung out to dry or taken to the cleaners or whatever? I think maybe that's just a jargony way of saying that a lot of transit users, while initially and for some time willing to give the Presto system a try, are by now fed up with the seemingly endless series of glitches they've been forced to endure. "Enough, already!" they are exclaiming.
The article mentions that less than 5% of users have set up auto-load features, either for monthly passes or top-up of cash balances (the so-called "e-purse"). Well, let me share my auto-load story with you.
I noted in my May 30 entry that I intended to register my card by snail-mail, after a frustrating time trying (and failing) to do it online, and another frustrating session using their eminently satirizable touch-tone-phone-tree. Since I was sending in THAT form (to register my PRESTO card), I decided to also include another form requesting an automatic top-up whenever my balance fell beyond a certain point. After all, both forms were supposed to be sent to the same address - what could possibly go wrong?
I was soon to find out.
Quite quickly after sending in the forms, I got an e-mail thanking me for registering and providing me with a 4-digit PIN. Great! Since I was registered, I figured they must have incorporated my auto-load request into my profile somehow. Though I still couldn't log in online because, it seemed, I hadn't selected a "user name". Efforts to try my e-mail address or name or initials as user name, together with my PIN as password, were in vain. I tried again by phone and this time did somehow manage to access a real person - but although she was pleasant and patient enough, her instructions (which for various reasons I had to carry out AFTER the call had ended) did not yield the desired results. Oh well, I figured I'd just keep on using my card and hoping for the best.
I went to Music and Beyond. I went to Chamberfest. On the way to one of the concerts, my PRESTO card was rejected for insufficient funds. Turned out the auto-load was NOT activated. So I went back to going to the Rideau Centre and topping up my card in person. That worked, although I didn't get any helpful advice from the folks there other than the recommendation that I send in a new autoload request form. I filed that in my file-13-purgatory file for possible future reference.
Then, some weeks later (I think it was early in August), I got a phone-call at home from "private number". Now, the great thing about call-display is you can decide if you want to answer calls or not. I practically never answer calls from 1-800 or 1-888 numbers, but with "private number" it's sort of hit-and-miss as to whether I answer them or not. If I'm busy at the time, I don't, unless I'm expecting a call or think it could be urgent; if I'm not busy, I might. Well, this time I answered.
It was someone from PRESTO, explaining that my auto-load request could not be activated because I'd requested some invalid amount on it. I think I'd asked that it be topped up if the balance fell below $10, but it had to be at least $20. Or something. How to remedy it? Send in another form, of course. Unless I wanted to try my luck online again, which I didn't.
After sighing and stewing for a few days, I did fill in another form, being very careful to follow all the instructions to the letter - and the number. For the next few weeks, I carefully checked my balance every time I paid my fare. And miracle of miracles, I saw my balance dip and rise again. My credit-card statement a while later confirmed that this time, the automatic top-up had worked. Hallelujah!
When I went to Toronto in mid-September, I thought I might try out my card to see if it was working yet with their PRESTO system. But whenever I happened to see their card-readers, it was when I'd already gotten through the turnstile with my subway token. And maybe I should be sure it's really going to work before I try using it in Toronto - I'd hate for their machinery to somehow "eat" my card after all the trouble I've gone to to get this far! My next planned trip to Toronto is in November, so we shall see...
