Transaction times depend on how you choose to load your card and where you travel. If you ride on TTC buses and streetcars, GO Trains or OC Transpo, your load can be ready in as little as four hours. TTC fare gates are able to load the transaction to your card in 12 hours.
PRESTO devices on GO buses and GTHA transit buses outside of Toronto aren’t connected to the PRESTO network when they are on the road. They only connect when they are inside their vehicle depot – this is when the devices pick up all transaction information that the PRESTO system has processed since the device last connected. Some buses only connect once a day, so if you load your card online, then tap on a bus that has not connected to the network since your online transaction, that device won’t know to add that value to your card.
The maximum time you may have to wait until your transaction is processed to all PRESTO devices is 24 hours, but it could be quicker depending on when the device you tap was last connected to the system. For example, if you load funds online at 6:00 p.m. and a bus ends its service day and returns to its vehicle depot later that night, your funds will be available for pick up on that bus’ devices when it begins service the following morning.
To make sure you always have funds available, consider one of these options:
If you purchased a pass or signed up for the TTC 12 Month Pass for next month, it will be ready for you to use on the first day of the month. If you purchased a pass or signed up for the TTC 12 Month Pass on the last day of the month, please note that it can take between 4 and 24 hours for your pass to be ready to use. Make sure you have funds on your card if you wish to travel during that time.
If you purchased a monthly pass or signed up for the TTC 12 Month Pass for the current month, it will take between 4 and 24 hours for your pass to be ready to use.