As a super infrequent transit user is cash going no longer be an option?
@clasher cash will still be an option.
Indeed, the new bus fareboxes take cash (coins only, note) and the LRT platform ticket machines will as well.
Is it not the case that this new thing is just for the Trial Cards, and not an actual problem for the real cards?
That's how I read it, anyway...
(02-26-2018, 08:25 PM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]Is it not the case that this new thing is just for the Trial Cards, and not an actual problem for the real cards?
That's how I read it, anyway...
Yes, that's what I understand.
Why it's even the case in the Beta I don't get. I have a monthly pass on it, so I can't speak for the rolling-balance cards...
They probably just want to make sure be trial cards are out of circulation when they finalize everything. Totally understandable they’d have a life.
(02-26-2018, 07:23 PM)chutten Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe that is why they always take pains to say that the cards store "transit products" not money?
Beyond questionable if it’s a dollar balance. If a balance enquiry returns something like “5 regular tickets + 1 day pass” or some such then it might be supportable, as a matter of logic and meaning. Dollars are not “transit products” even if they are sitting on a transit service card. Tickets and passes, by contrast, clearly are “transit products”.
If it’s only for the trial it’s still weird, but whatever. As long as normal cards have a more reasonable policy.
No transit agency in the world is going to dump cash value each month on a finished, production ready product. This is just for the trial.
If you don’t like it, you didn’t have to sign up!
The main reason for the expiry is that there is a second beta phase to test the loading of the cards online. Basically, the next beta phase will test whether you can load the cards online and then use them in the same fashion as in the first beta phase. Doing this while cards still have funds on them would cloud the results.
(02-26-2018, 04:48 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: [ -> ] (02-26-2018, 04:06 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]Gross note on the fare card pilot, from what a friend told me: Funds expire (for the pilot only, I'm assuming) after one month. So either you take the risk that you're going to see money disappear if you want to load it once, or else you really need to know how much you're going to use it. Quite counterproductive for trying to encourage usage; even with the discount on fares, this will scare away a lot of their users and those users' trips.
"Funds disappear"...this would be a complete non-starter for me, I often hold onto tickets for months. And there's no reason for this, it doesn't happen on presto.
I mean PRESTO refunds whatever you load onto the card if you don't tap your card within 30 days of loading it [color=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7)]
¯\_(ツ)_/¯[/color]
Ok, I think the GRT email was poorly written. In being asked about cash-loaded cards only, they responded that there would be expiry at end of month, but, poorly-phrased, they were referring to monthly users' passes expiring at end-of-month (which is obvious?). But it sounds like fare value on the card stays, which I'm asking to get confirmed. Sorry for the confusion.
(02-27-2018, 09:16 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]Ok, I think the GRT email was poorly written. In being asked about cash-loaded cards only, they responded that there would be expiry at end of month, but, poorly-phrased, they were referring to monthly users' passes expiring at end-of-month (which is obvious?). But it sounds like fare value on the card stays, which I'm asking to get confirmed. Sorry for the confusion.
And that makes a lot more sense. I know my March pass expires on March 31st. Same thing would happen with my paper pass I have for February, where it expires end of day tomorrow.
Maybe they store two things: stored value -and- fare products. Then the fare products could expire end-of-month, but the stored value would be, uh, stored.
For tickets/transfers it's a meaningless distinction, as you don't purchase any fare product that lasts longer than an instant (ticket) or 99min (the transfer).
For monthly passes this is confirming that a monthly pass still adheres to the calendar month for the beta testing period. Maybe this is a hint they're considering monthly passes that last 31 days from purchase? (or first use?)
Thanks for the clarification everyone, and this is actually a big improvement then, because a fare product that you can start any time would be a big benefit to some.
(02-27-2018, 12:02 AM)trainspotter139 Wrote: [ -> ] (02-26-2018, 04:48 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: [ -> ]"Funds disappear"...this would be a complete non-starter for me, I often hold onto tickets for months. And there's no reason for this, it doesn't happen on presto.
I mean PRESTO refunds whatever you load onto the card if you don't tap your card within 30 days of loading it [color=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7)]¯\_(ツ)_/¯[/color]
I'm not sure what you're talking about? I've never experienced this and I often go 30+ days without using presto.
(02-27-2018, 12:21 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the clarification everyone, and this is actually a big improvement then, because a fare product that you can start any time would be a big benefit to some.
(02-27-2018, 12:02 AM)trainspotter139 Wrote: [ -> ]I mean PRESTO refunds whatever you load onto the card if you don't tap your card within 30 days of loading it [color=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7)]¯\_(ツ)_/¯[/color]
I'm not sure what you're talking about? I've never experienced this and I often go 30+ days without using presto.
PRESTO requires you to tap your card within 30 days after they process the reloading of funds at one of the tap terminals because of the way the PRESTO system works. PRESTO readers aren't connected to the PRESTO network all the time so they take up to 24 hours to register all the transactions that occurred within the previous 24 hour period. If you load your card online manually, you have to wait for the PRESTO readers and network to register that transaction (up to 24 hours) and then you have to tap your card on a balance checker or one of the card readers within 30 days to register those funds on your card or the transaction is refunded. If you set up an autoload or autorenew contract those will be loaded into the card the next time you tap within 30 days as well. With the autoload or autorenew contracts you never have to worry about the 24 hour wait of not having funds or passes registered on the card because the readers will see the parameters of the autoload or autorenew contract, register those transactions for the PRESTO network to perform if needed and act as if the card is already loaded.