Rickety public transit systems are a prime target for multi-jurisdictional pooling of IT investments to develop gleaming new networks. In Ontario, the One Fare project was launched in June to develop a common contactless payment card system, dubbed Presto, which will allow transit users in the Greater Toronto Area and outlying areas to seamlessly travel across transit authority and municipal boundaries.
"We can only build so many highways," says Jeffery Young, director of integrated ticketing systems at the Ministry of Transport of Ontario (MTO). Of the three million people who travel daily to their jobs in Toronto, only 30 per cent use public transit. And many of the riders cross two or more transit systems.
"The government wants to attract more transit users, and the catalyst is a common fare card that can deal with different fare media and reduce fishing for passes, transfers and tokens."
Major cities grappling with urban sprawl have similar systems. London has its Oyster card, Hong Kong has its Octopus, and Montreal is also running a pilot.
In Ontario, eight entities are involved in the project in addition to the MTO: the interregional GO Transit system, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and various municipalities and transit authorities in the Golden Horseshoe around the GTA, from Hamilton in the west to Whitby in the east.
A pilot is currently underway in Mississauga to test the Presto card and get feedback on the user experience, says Young. The roll-out is slated for the end of 2008 starting in Hamilton, and then adding successive Go transit lines and their interconnecting bus and subway transfer points until 2010. "That's when we'll look at the TTC and full-blown implementation," he says.
Since the correct fare for each segment of a ride is automatically deducted from the card's value, it will eliminate much of the human labour around counting cash boxes, transfers, and so on, he says. And the system's flexibility will enable more innovation that will increase ridership. Planners are thinking about the introduction of a loyalty program that automatically reduces pricing with increased use of public transit and for trips taken during off-peak times.
The Presto system will cost about $250 million over the course of 10 years, says Young.B The province is paying for the central clearing system at the heart, and individual municipalities will pay for their equipment.
"All entities will keep their existing fares and budgets, so the governance of the project is around the system's design. There's been an unprecedented level of cooperation, as all players agree it makes sense to have common technology and business rules," Young says.
Design and vendor selection was a long process, as the steering committee had to consider a weighty, 1,300-page tome of technical specifications, he says. "But we have agreement on the specs and Accenture as the vendor for the system build-out. For convenience, the contract is with the MTO to provide a single point of contact with the vendor, but we have a steering committee with representation from each entity and with an equal vote."
Responsibility for MTO's portion will be transferred shortly to the Greater Toronto Transit Authority, which was created last year to tackle issues in the region, he adds.
The governance model will be reviewed on a continuous basis to ensure it meets everyone's needs as it grows, he says. Planners believe there are larger possibilities to integrate many more transit authorities into the system.
"In owning the central system and intellectual property rights in Ontario, we see uses beyond the GTA. Other cities such as Ottawa have expressed interest in using the one-fare card, and we see a scenario where Ottawa would use the central system. From Ontario's perspective, this is great: we've bought an asset and we can maximize its value," Young says.
Rosie Lombardi is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Contact her at rosie@rosie-lombardi.com
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