Latest news with #farecapping
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
OC Transpo rolling out fare capping for Presto card users Aug. 1
An OC Transpo Presto card is seen in this file image. (CTV News Ottawa) OC Transpo is extending its fare capping policy to Presto card users starting next month. Transit Services general manager Renée Amilcar said in a memo Tuesday that beginning Aug. 1, transit riders using a Presto card will not have to pay more than the cost of a monthly pass in any given month when tapping their cards to board a bus or train or when using Para Transpo. 'This new feature is ideal for customers using a Presto card who are eligible for a discount and are unsure how frequently they will use transit in a given month,' Amilcar wrote. 'Customers can load funds onto their Presto card to pay per trip on OC Transpo buses, the O-Train and Para Transpo. Once their total fares paid reach the cost of their monthly pass type, all additional trips for the remainder of that month will be free.' The only exception is the rural supplement for rural trips on Para Transpo. OC Transpo says only the base part of the rural fare (the price of a single urban trip) counts towards the monthly total. Upon reaching the monthly cap, riders will be charged the rural supplement for any additional rural trips. Fare capping is already in effect for people who pay with their credit or debit card. This new Presto card policy will extend to people eligible for discount monthly passes such as the senior's pass, EquiPass or Community Pass. An adult monthly pass costs $135 and a youth monthly pass is $104. A senior's pass and the EquiPass are $58.25 per month, while the Community pass costs $43.25 per month. 'For Senior, EquiPass, and Community pass holders, monthly fare capping on your Presto card offers you the flexibility of monthly savings without the upfront cost,' OC Transpo says. A Presto card user with a regular adult monthly pass would need to pay for 34 regular trips with their card in a month to hit the cap. Seniors, who also pay a reduced fare on their Presto cards, would reach the cap on their 19th trip. Amilcar says customers won't have to do anything extra to take advantage of fare capping. 'Customers are asked to continue tapping their card for every trip – even after reaching the monthly cap – as this adds proof-of-payment to the card in case of fare inspection and supports accurate ridership tracking,' Amilcar's memo says. Customers who regularly transfer to Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) service are asked to continue purchasing monthly passes to ensure seamless travel between the two transit systems. OC Transpo confirms that unlike debit or credit card payments on the transit system, which cap at $12 in a single day—the price of a day pass—fare capping with Presto is only monthly.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
OC Transpo introducing monthly fare cap for Presto users
OC Transpo is introducing monthly fare capping for Presto cards, extending the money-saving payment feature to pay-per-ride passengers who are already eligible for discounts. The new fare cap starts Aug. 1, according to a memo from outgoing OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar on Tuesday. The feature will prevent Presto card holders from spending more than the cost of a monthly pass on individual fares. For example, a passenger paying the $4 adult fare will ride for free for the rest of the month once they've spent $135, the price of a monthly pass. Otherwise, they could end up paying for a monthly pass they don't fully use, or spend more paying per ride than they would on a pass. The feature was introduced for riders who pay with credit cards and mobile wallets in the late summer of 2023, and debit cards in the spring of 2024. However, certain discount fares for youth, seniors and lower-income customers have only been available to passengers using Presto cards. Now they, too, can take advantage of the fare cap. Riders are asked to keep tapping their Presto cards after they've reached the monthly cap to prove they've paid, and to allow for more accurate ridership tracking, according to Amilcar, whose time as general manager ends Friday.
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
New fare-capping scheme proposed for Wellington
Daran Ponter, Andrew Little and Tom James announce their public transport plan in Island Bay. Photo: RNZ / Bill Hickman A new fare-capping system could encourage an extra 300,000 trips on Wellington's public transport system each year, says mayoral candidate Andrew Little. Under the proposed new scheme, bus and train users would pay for up to eight trips a week - and any additional trips would be free. The plan was announced this morning - outside a rain-soaked Island Bay bus stop - as a joint policy alongside regional council candidates Daran Ponter and Tom James. Little said the move would help lower the cost of living, reduce congestion and encourage public transport use. "If you're a regular bus user - four days a week you take your bus to work - the fifth day you take the bus you'll get that for free. "Any travel you do in the weekend - you might go and see a Phoenix game, you might go and see [the] Hurricanes playing - you'll get that for free as well," Little said. Little said he was a regular bus user, but had passed up his usual express service into Wellington City in order to make the announcement. Ponter said the cap on bus and train fares was expected to cost up to $4.5 million each year - which the regional council would try to find "internally". "We can afford that if we juggle other things that we do. "Bus use in the Wellington region has grown by 110 percent since Covid, but we're still keen to maximise use on public transport. This proposal will really benefit those people who regularly use public transport by incentivising them further," Ponter said. The candidates said they were unified in their commitment to continue the implementation of a safe cycle network alongside expanding public transport use in the city. "You only have to look down Adelaide Road to see cycle lanes and bus lanes working superbly," Ponter said. He said the regional council was poised to add additional buses to cope with the estimated 300,000 extra trips the plan could bring. "We have an order of articulated buses for the number two route - precisely to deal with these types of circumstances - a route that is growing significantly and will come under additional use as the consequence of a policy like this," Ponter said. Labour regional council candidate Tom James said - if elected - the candidates would also be looking at other policies to help the reduce the cost of public transport further. "Auckland Transport works with businesses to subsidise their employees use. We'll be looking at teaming up with the private sector to reduce bus fares even more and also looking at places like New South Wales where they have brought in an all day off peak [fare] on their Friday. "We'll be considering further proposals like that to further encourage people to take the bus and train," James said. Daran Ponter, Andrew Little and Tom James in Island Bay this morning Photo: RNZ / Bill Hickman Island Bay locals greeted the proposal with cautious enthusiasm this morning. Regular public transport user David Barnes said the system would "make a big difference" across his weekly costs. "I think it's a great idea. It would bring Wellington into common practise with Auckland and other overseas cities and it's a direct incentive to use public transport. "It would save a lot of people money and probably not cost that much more because all those services are already running. I can't see any downsides," Barnes said. Veterinary regulator Kelly Etuata said she was in full support of the initiative and was encouraged that Little was "listening to the community". "With people that are normally catching the bus everyday to get to work - with the cost of everything these days - it probably does help a little bit," Etuata said. Island Bay resident Paul Brownie said something needed to be done to rein in the price of Wellington's bus services. "It really needs to be done in Wellington. The bus fares are ridiculous. The per section fares just don't make any sense anymore. "I was just over in Brisbane and they have a cap of 50 cents per journey. So we were basically travelling around Brisbane all day for a dollar a day. "You can't even get from one bus-stop to the next in Wellington for a dollar. The pricing scheme here is just way out of touch," Brownie said. Brownie said he was optimistic that the public transport system could cope with any added demand. "The service certainly has improved in the last six to 12 months to what it was a couple of years ago where - particularly on this run - you were getting two or three buses in a row cancelled. Last thing people want to be doing is standing at bus-stops for half an hour waiting to get home," Brownie said. He said the proposal would put a "definite plus" in the candidates' column when weighing up his votes for council. "As long as, if what they're proposing, actually happens. If they're going to put it as an election campaign then they have to stump up and actually do it. "Our roads around Wellington are not getting any wider and easier to drive around so if we can take a bit more traffic off the roads then it's got to be a good thing," Brownie said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
