She lost the Presto card, then she had to watch as the stranger collected the costs

"I looked quickly and could not see, so I just had to get out of the train," she said.

39-year-old Dixon, who works in publishing, asked the GO employee what to do with her card, which still loaded $ 93 on it.

The worker advised her to visit the Presto website and report the lost card.

Later that day she checked her online activity on the account and discovered a lucky but unscrupulous GO horse who used her card on a bus in Burlington and then towards Port Port. Whoever used it fast about $ 20.

"It was frustrating to know that someone had my card and I intended to use it, and I could not do anything about it," said Dixon. "I was pretty angry."

What is worse, Dixon set the Presto auto-download feature that automatically adds money from your credit card or client's bank account to the Presto card when its balance drops below a predetermined level.

Dixon was afraid of the one who had his card so that he could charge enough in 24 hours to load himself automatically, which cost even more money.

She wanted to cancel the auto-download function, but in the online chat on Monday night, Presto's representative told me that this was impossible, since the automatic load can only be canceled after the card was reported. Nobody told her this.

"I think the advice I got was not the best advice," she said.

Frustrated, Dixon took on Twitter to reveal that Presto called "a terrible idea." her card.

Dixon said she was pleased with the outcome, but says she can no longer trust her ticket, which she called "super embarrassing."

"Why it takes 24 hours and what can be done to make things better?" She asked.

According to Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins, there is a delay in introducing changes to online fare cards, which includes other transactions, such as the deposit of funds, not just for Presto.

"Many well-used payment systems worldwide have a waiting time associated with online transactions," she said in an e-mail. Transactions on Presto machines in subway stations and elsewhere can be instantaneous.

Aikins said that we can take the day for online changes so that all information about the Presto account is stored on the card. When a customer makes an online transaction, such as adding funds or canceling a card, the change is recorded in the central Presto system, and then the updated information is shared with the transport devices throughout the transit system.

Updated account information is only transferred to the customer's physical card when it is touched on the Presto device.

However, some Presto devices are less often connected to the core network than others.

TTC card readers are often linked to the central system via the mobile network so that the customer using these devices can quickly introduce changes to their account.

But readers of Presto cards on GO buses connect only to the central network when they enter one of the garages of the agencies that they do only once a day.

However, you can immediately disable the automatic download function on the Presto website. Aikins could not immediately say why Dixon was not recommended to disable this feature before canceling her card, but said the agency was updating the messages on its website to clarify the issue.

Asked whether other Presto users who find themselves in Dixon's situation will be reimbursed for the lost funds, Aikins did not guarantee.

"While we look at each situation independently, our policy is that we are not responsible for the costs incurred within 24 hours after the cancellation," she said.

Presto uses 11 transit agencies in Ontario. This month, the TTC, by far the largest transit system in the region, has made an important step towards full implementation of technology by removing its metropause. Instead, customers need to buy monthly tickets for Presto.

TTC intends to stop selling older tickets in August, such as tickets and tokens, and will stop receiving them at the end of 2019.

Did you have problems with the Presto card? Tell us your story on Facebook, Twitteror contact Ben Spurr directly at [email protected].

Ben Spurr is a Toronto journalist covering transportation. Get it by e-mail at [email protected] or follow it on Twitter: @BenSpurr