Presto card suggestion

[auriaephiala]

For those who are using Ottawa's invidious Presto transit payment card:

I saw a tweet recently from someone who had found a Presto card on the ground in the Glebe and was asking if anyone had lost one (good for him!)

Which made me think that another one of the problems with this card is that, unlike monthly passes, there's nowhere to write down

Comments

[dewline]

Amen.

This is part of why I don't plan to switch until OC Transpo decides to force the issue.

[beable]

I registered mine, which I thought meant that when I login with my username/password combo (as opposed to the card number) it actually shows my card number.

But now that I think about it that may help OC transpo reunite me with my card if the good samaritan turns it in, but won't help them give me the car dback directly.

[auriaephiala]

I don't think that it's in Transpo's interest to reunite you with your card. Too much hassle to get the card to the Lost & Found and to ensure that it's your card. Much simpler for them to force you to buy a new card & get your balance transferred.

[fajrdrako]

My understanding is: you don't need the physical card. If you lose it, you go to OC Transpo and they give you another card with your payment on it. The card itself is irrelevant: the information is all electronic. The person who lost that one likely already has another one.

[auriaephiala]

Yes, but...

The cards are slippery, small, white on one side (easy to lose in snow), and green on the other (easy to lose in grass/vegetation). You have to keep pulling them out every time you transfer (with a pass on a POP bus you don't have to) making it more likely to lose them.

OC Transpo charges you $6 for a new card.

You have to go to the very few Transpo service desks, during their working hours, to get that new card. But that service desk can't transfer your balance. No, you have to put more money on there for the interim, and then phone Presto to have your balance transferred, which will take several days.

And you don't have the choice of say, keeping the old card active and just transferring the balance off, in case you find it again. Not allowed.

This just doesn't seem very customer-friendly to me.

[fajrdrako]

It could be better, but I find it easier than the previous system - when I had to renew the card every month, and if I lost it, I had no recourse.