11-30-2017, 07:14 PM
(11-30-2017, 05:10 PM)tomh009 Wrote: It doesn't need to be unified fares, all we need is a unified fare system so that my stored-value fare card will work anywhere. Ideally on any transit system in Ontario, plus GO, VIA and any government-licensed bus lines (such as Greyhound). It's not rocket science, and it can actually save operation costs rather than increasing them. And no one needs to lose control.
In the Tokyo area (population nearly 40M) the big railways use SUICA, while the subways and small independent local trains use PASMO. But the two cards are completely interchangeable, and you can both use and recharge both cards anywhere.
I thought that was the vision behind PRESTO (implementation, of course, being a whole other story).
VIA's a bit tricky in that you buy tickets in advance. But there's no reason such a thing shouldn't exist otherwise.