Auditor General says Presto smart card cost has ballooned to $700 million

Those Presto fare cards that were supposed to make commuting a breeze have turned into a mighty expensive ride for Ontario taxpayers.

The cost of Metrolinx’s green smart cards has ballooned to about $700 million from the original $250 million, 10-year agreement between the province and supplier, Accenture.

That makes it one of the most expensive fare card systems in the world, according to the 2012 Annual Report from Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter.

But the card’s value to commuters has been seriously hampered by the TTC’s failure to get on board with Presto sooner and the card’s cumbersome operations.

Critical data on the system’s reliability is also lacking.

The take-up of Presto in the audit period — about six years into the program’s development — was dismal, said the report.

Only 6 per cent of regional transit riders were using it as of March 31 this year. That number rose to 18 per cent once GO riders were factored in.

Recently Metrolinx signed a deal with the TTC that will see Presto on most Toronto subways, streetcars and buses by 2015. The cancellation of GO’s 2-ride and 10-ride passes in August has also boosted its use and that takeup has continued as GO is ending its monthly pass program Jan. 1.

Much of the cost hike comes from the development of Presto Next Generation (PNG), an upgraded system designed for the TTC and Ottawa, which will allow those riders to pay their fares with a credit or debit card, and eventually a mobile device.

The new system was developed “rather than expanding the Presto base system to meet the requirements of Ottawa and Toronto,” says the report.

It also notes that Metrolinx continued to add to the scope of the current Accenture contract, a 10-year agreement that expires in 2016, rather than doing a separate procurement for PNG.

Regional transit systems have not exactly jumped aboard, according to the auditor.

They say a regionally-integrated fare system won’t happen because their municipalities aren’t willing to absorb the cost of subsidies such as the $7 million GO Transit provides so local bus systems can offer GO riders a reduced fare to their station.

Those municipalities also told the auditor the $10 minimum balance and $6 cost of a card were disincentives for low-income bus riders. They cited the inability for students and seniors to register their cards online rather than in person at a station as another disincentive.

“One region contracts out routes used by about 30 per cent of its ridership to the TTC, but the TTC currently does not accept the Presto card on its buses,” says the report.

The auditor also casts doubts on Metrolinx’s management of landmark infrastructure projects, including the Air Rail Link and the Union Station renovation.

The report suggests that the express train shuttle that will connect Union Station to Pearson likely won’t attract enough riders to pay for itself. To do that, it would need to charge $28 for a one-way ride, a price way out of reach not just for airport workers, but also many travelers.

The auditor also suggests Metrolinx ignored its own analysis and priorities to reach a deal with Toronto on the province’s $8.4 billion transit expansion funding.

Even though Metrolinx identified Sheppard Ave. as a transit priority, it was ready to abandon the light rail there to Mayor Rob Ford’s ill-fated plan to build a subway, even though its own research showed Sheppard ridership would never justify a subway.

Metrolinx research also showed that grade-separated transit had the best chance of success on Eglinton but it has reached an agreement to build part of that LRT line on the road.

Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Tess Kalinowski