It looks like transit riders in Ottawa could be using the Presto Card for a long time, even if it costs the City more money.
According to a report prepared for the Transit Commission, City Staff say Metrolinx, the Crown agency that oversees the Presto Card system, has agreed to extend its current operating agreement with Ottawa for one year, while OC Transpo and other transit agencies in southern Ontario work with Metrolinx to finalize a new 10-year agreement.
The 10-year deal, which would start in October, 2017 and run through November, 2027, would see the City’s per-ride fee increase, starting in 2018.
Right now, the City of Ottawa pays Metrolinx 2% of every fare when a card is tapped. That deal was set to expire this October, but has been extended to next year. In 2018, under the proposed 10-year deal, that fee would rise to 3%. It would then proceed to go up 1% every year to 6% by 2021, where it will remain until 2027.
The City estimates this would increase the cost of the Presto system from $3.9 million in 2018 to $13.4 million in 2027.
In the report, Staff say they support the fee increase, “given the actual costs that have incurred now that the Presto System has matured, given the due diligence that staff have exercised in examining these costs, together with locking in this rate for ten years, and given the negotiation that staff have carried out with Metrolinx.”
Metrolinx will continue to pay OC Transpo a 2% commission for cash values loaded onto Presto cards at OC Transpo customer service centres. Staff say the same arrangement will apply to the future ticket machines at O-Train stations on both the Confederation and Trillium Lines.
Metrolinx is also proposing the Presto system be overseen in the future by a “Scheme Governance Committee,” according to the report. OC Transpo would hold one of five positions on this Committee, along with the Toronto Transit Commission, a representative from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area transit agencies, and Metrolinx itself, which would hold two seats – one for Presto and one for Rail and Bus Operations. The proposed Committee would meet quarterly to discuss the future of the Presto System.
The Transit Commission meets December 5.