Presto dispute might require political intervention

Politicians might have to step in to sort out a disagreement between the OC Transpo and Metrolinx transit agencies over how much more the city should pay to use Presto on public transit, Mayor Jim Watson says.

“We don’t want to be treated, nor do other municipalities, as a cash cow for Metrolinx and Presto in order to fund their operations,” Watson said Wednesday at city hall.

“We think a reasonable fee schedule should be established and we’ve put forward proposals, and my hope is before too long we can find an amicable solution that addresses the needs of Metrolinx in Toronto, but also all the other municipalities who are also quite upset with the original propositions by Metrolinx for increased costs.”

Metrolinx runs the Presto smart card system. While the city owns the Presto-branded hardware on Transpo buses and train platforms, Metrolinx processes each transaction across the Presto network in Ontario.

A 10-year contract, which compels the city to pay a two-per-cent commission to Metrolinx on each fare paid with Presto, ends in October. Negotiations to renew are ongoing. Transpo is budgeting to increase the commission to four per cent, but Metrolinx has suggested Transpo pay 10 per cent.

Metrolinx collected $1.3 million from Transpo in 2015.

Watson said he has talked to Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca about the Presto contract renewal.

“We have let them know very clearly that we want to make sure Presto remains affordable for our passengers, first and foremost, and secondly, for the city,” Watson said, and he predicts the negotiations will rise to the political level.

Presto started off on a bumpy road in Ottawa with a delay to the implementation, but as Watson pointed out, the smart card is generally working well for passengers and it’s helping to provide Transpo with ridership data.

Watson pointed out the “monopoly situation” the city is stuck in, where Transpo is required to use Presto if the city wants millions of dollars in annual gas tax transfers.

“We have no other choice. We have to use Presto. So it’s unfair if the province comes in with a proposal that is really out of whack with what we and other municipalities can afford,” Watson said.

We don’t want to be treated … as a cash cow for Metrolinx and Presto.

The Presto negotiations between Metrolinx and Transpo came up Wednesday during question period in the provincial legislature.

NDP transportation critic Wayne Gates pressed Del Duca on why Metrolinx was forcing Transpo to pay more. Del Duca said Metrolinx is working with Ottawa and other municipalities on the outskirts of Toronto on Presto negotiations.

“At the end of it all, making sure that we have a fare-card system or platform that works effectively for Ottawa and for all of the transit systems in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area is an important companion piece to the unprecedented transit investments that this government is making in Ottawa, in the (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) and across the province of Ontario,” Del Duca said.

Brampton, Oakville, Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, York Region and Durham Region are also negotiating new Presto contracts.