Search ThisCrazyTrain.com

Friday, May 4, 2012

Pick up your bugle and start playing "Taps"

Two-ride and 10-ride ticket discontinuation
FROM: GO Transit
TO: csmithxxxx@rogers.com
Message flagged Wednesday, May 2, 2012
10:58:18 PM

Starting on June 1st we will no longer sell 2 and 10 ride tickets. All unused tickets after that date will continue to be accepted for travel until July 31st.

We are committed to offering a number of fare options such as single-ride tickets, day passes, GO monthly passes and the flexible and reloadable PRESTO fare card.

For more information on how easy it is to save money with PRESTO, please visit www.gotransit.com/PRESTO.

Oh man ... Presto better buy a whole bunch of hamsters.

15 comments:

Bicky said...

I received that email too. I cashed in some rides (and put the value on my Presto card) I had on a 10 ride ticket from 3 years ago and a 2 ride ticket from 10 years ago. They still took them. :o) Plus I got an extra 5¢ because the guy couldn't do his math right - even with a calculator.

James said...

It will be interesting to see if the system will be able to handle the increased load. Not to mention I'm still not seeing an abundance of Presto machines at Union.

Anonymous said...

I've seen more Presto machines at Union over the last few weeks. The stretch of concourse in front of the ticket sellers and towards the back has at least 3 more Presto machines than it did a month or so ago.

And TTC has altered the Union east subway entrance to include specially mounted Presto scanners so you can tap as you walk through the doorway.

lswgirl13 said...

I got this email yesterday and thought what about the people that come in for the day or a Jays game or something. Does that mean they can't get a 2-ride/return ticket and would have to line-up twice to buy a single ticket??? Is a day pass not an entirely separate thing? Shouldn't GO be more rider-friendly? What a concept!

TomW said...

@lswgirl13 : Day passes will still be available for now and always.

Bicky said...

@lswgirl13: Day passes can still be bought. It's just printed on a receipt now, not the cardboard-y kind. No need to line up twice - unless you really want to. :o)

The 2 ride and 10 ride pop tickets will be history. And next year, so will the paper monthly pass.

Squiggles said...

I looked into this, only because every once in a while I gets to bring a parent downtown for an appt.

Currently, from Ajax, a Day Pass is the same price as a Two-Ride. A Group Pass is valid for up to 2 adults and some kids (under 18) and costs the same amount as 2 two-rdies.

The only thing is: you have to know about the Day Pass to ask to purchase it.

Anonymous said...

A day pass allows you to ride the train as may times as you wish in a day (in between the stations you paid for). It doesn't need to be cancelled in the machine. It is only good for that day, unlike a two ride ticket that could only be used twice, needed to be canceled but didn't expire. Quite often they would issue a day pass when you asked for a return ticket. You only need to line up once.

DaGOGuy said...

Day Pass is basically 2 ride (same price) but allows unlimited travel for that day. So if you do jays game, Day pass would be ok.

Anonymous said...

Yes but a day pass has to be bought the day you use it, you can't buy it in advance like you can a 2 ride.

lswgirl13 said...

That's what I was wondering, if a day pass was basically the same price as a 2-ride ticket. I've used PRESTO for almost 2 years and while I like it I realize that many others hate it so obviously GO continues to ignore the wishes of the customer.

Dan-1 said...

The 2 and 10 rides are going will allow the aging ticket stamping machines to be removed. IIRC, they were due for replacement (especially some on the GO buses), GO probably figured to push the PRESTO wave on everyone and get rid of them.

Subliminal said...

Bicky said...

I received that email too. I cashed in some rides (and put the value on my Presto card) I had on a 10 ride ticket from 3 years ago and a 2 ride ticket from 10 years ago. They still took them. :o) Plus I got an extra 5¢ because the guy couldn't do his math right - even with a calculator.

Sounds more like a rounding up to the nearest nickel than a human to calulator interface error (old computer repair joke) to me.
Today was the day the Mint stopped making the obsolete penny we all have reason to celebrate. with you.
But...cashing in a number of rides at old prices reducies your buying power when you use them at current Presto ride prices.
If you just stamped those tickets that you bought at old prices rather that convert them into, for example, 80% of the current cost of a new ride you would get a bigger bang for that old buck.
If they were from a zone you don't live at anymore then consider it a deal like using an expired coupon and you scored. :)

Peter Seelert said...

@Dan-1: I agree. I would love to know the cost analysis of PRESTO versus deploying new printers. Fixing a printer problem on a bus takes less time than resolving a PRESTO card issue – simply write the zone and date at the bottom of the ticket and you’re done (in less than 30 seconds).

Bicky said...

@Subliminal: Not a rounding issue.

He took half of the 2 ride ticket (which would never have been used as it was for a line no longer travelled) @ 2.90. The 2 rides left on the 10-ride was for my station but I'm not fussed on the loss of purchasing power. So each of those rides was valued @ 6.65, or 13.30. He's got it right so far, so when he added the two amounts he got 16.25 rather than 16.20.

Just thought it was humourous that even with the calculator going, he still got it wrong. :o)