New to PRESTO

PRESTO is an electronic fare payment system used on public transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ottawa, Ontario. It allows transit riders to use a physical reloadable card, an Apple Wallet, a Google Wallet, contactless credit and Interac debit, and tickets to pay for trips on participating transit systems. Learn about all the payment options and find out which product is right for you.

There are many benefits with using a PRESTO card, which include:

• Convenient, reloadable payment card for travel on public transit
• No need to carry cash, tickets, tokens, or passes
• Works on 11 participating transit agencies in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ottawa, Ontario
• Transfer discounts within or between participating transit agencies
• Reduced fare options for eligible riders, such as seniors and youth
• With a PRESTO account, enjoy benefits such as transaction history, automatic reloading, and balance protection

You can use your PRESTO card on any of the 11 participating transit agencies in Ontario, including:

• Brampton Transit
• Burlington Transit
• Durham Region Transit (DRT)
• GO Transit
• Hamilton Street Railway (HSR)
• MiWay (Mississauga Transit)
• Oakville Transit
• OC Transpo (PRESTO in Mobile Wallet not accepted)
• Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
• UP Express
• York Region Transit (YRT/VIVA)

Please note:

• Physical PRESTO cards can be used to transfer from OC Transpo to Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) and OC Transpo monthly passes on a PRESTO card can be used to board STO vehicles. However, PRESTO cards issued before 2013 are not accepted on Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO).

Yes, PRESTO is accepted on many specialized transit services, including Wheel-Trans in Toronto, DARTS in Hamilton, Mobility On-Request in York Region, Durham Region Transit, Care-A-Van in Oakville, Para Transpo in Ottawa (PRESTO in Google Wallet not accepted) and Handi-Van in Burlington.

There are two different PRESTO fare payment devices on specialized transit vehicles:

1. a handheld device 2. a device attached to the vehicle’s centre console

Depending on which device type is on your vehicle and where you are seated, you may be able to tap your own card, or the operator may need to tap your card for you. In either case, the result of your tap will be visible on the screen and there is also an audio mode that the operator can turn on for you. When your card is tapped, the audio mode reads out the same information that appears on the screen. This includes the fare paid and your balance remaining. Remember, you must ask the operator to turn on the audio mode before your card is first tapped.

With PRESTO in Mobile Wallet, you can get a card almost instantly through the PRESTO app, Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

You can buy a physical PRESTO card in-person or online. If you are buying a replacement card, please cancel your lost card and follow the steps here.

Buy card in person:

• At a select Customer Service Outlet
• At a Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) or a Fare Vending Machine (FVM).

Buy card online. This card will be mailed to you within 7-10 business days.

We recommend adding your PRESTO card to an online account to benefit from account features like balance protection, Autoload and transaction history.

The physical PRESTO card costs $4 and is non-refundable. This charge is collected by us to cover administrative fees for the cost of the card and using the system.

There is no cost to get a new PRESTO card in Mobile Wallet.

The safety and security of our system is a top priority, and we want to remind customers to only buy PRESTO cards from an authorized PRESTO retailer, including:

• Customer Service Outlet Locations

• Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) or a Fare Vending Machine (FVM).

• Through the PRESTO website

• For Android device users, you can get a new PRESTO in Google Wallet card through the PRESTO app or Google Wallet app.

• For iPhone device users, you can get a new PRESTO in Apple Wallet through the PRESTO app or Apple Wallet app.

We recommend adding your PRESTO card to an online account to access the full range of benefits including card balance protection.

If you encounter an unauthorized PRESTO retailer selling PRESTO products, you should report suspected fraud to your local police and notify the PRESTO Contact Centre. The more information we can collect on the matter will help in stopping it before more customers are affected.

If you bought your physical card in person, no activation is needed. It is ready for use right away.

However, if you bought a physical card through your PRESTO account and it was mailed to you, it's already added to your account and must be activated before use. To activate a PRESTO card, simply sign into your PRESTO account and select Card Details for the card, and choose Activate New Card. Alternatively, you can type “Activate PRESTO card” in the PRESTO Virtual Assistant to activate your card.

With PRESTO, simply tap your PRESTO product and travel. Learn more about the different PRESTO products you can use to pay for transit.

No. Punching a hole in your PRESTO card will damage the card's antenna and chip, making it unusable. PRESTO and our Transit Agency partners are not responsible for any damaged cards.

If the physical card is damaged you will be responsible for buying a replacement card for the cost of $4.

No, PRESTO cards do not expire. The date on the back of the card is the date the card was manufactured. You may continue to use your card even after the indicated date.