Presto suspends fare gate installation

Motors in all units need replacing in latest glitch for system’s trouble-plagued rollout

The TTC has suspended work to install Presto fare gates at its subway stations due to the machines’ persistent mechanical and software problems, marking the latest setback in the troubled rollout of the smartcard system on Toronto’s transit network.

In a report that will be debated at next Tuesday’s TTC board meeting, the agency’s acting chief executive officer Rick Leary revealed the deployment of the gates has been “paused” until the reliability issues are resolved.

“We have been experiencing a variety of problems related to both hardware and software,” TTC spokesperson Stu- art Green said in an email.

He said “the exact nature of all the issues is still being investigated” by the gates’ manufacturer, a German company called Scheidt & Bachmann.

Although details aren’t fully known, one of the problems is the high failure rate of the motors in the gates, which are supposed to open to allow riders access to the subway with the tap of a Presto card.

As a result, Scheidt & Bachmann is having to replace the motors on all 1,000 gates the TTC has contracted for. More than 800 gates are already in service, and will have to be repaired.

The software issue was disclosed earlier this year, and has made it difficult for the TTC to detect when a gate has malfunctioned. The machines have a failure rate of about five per cent, Green said.

He couldn’t say when the installation would resume, or when it will be complete. According to the acting CEO’s report, to date fare gates have been installed at 115 entrances across 65 of the network’s 75 stations.

Under the terms of its contract Scheidt & Bachmann is responsible for providing the parts and labour required to resolve any problems, and the transit agency can reduce its payments to the company based on the gates’ performance.

“The TTC is not on the hook for this,” Green said.

Scheidt & Bachmann didn’t return a request for comment Thursday.

In an interview, TTC Chair Josh Colle conceded he was “unbelievably frustrated” by the malfunctioning machines.

“I see them not working myself when I’m on the system, and I imagine how annoyed our passengers are,” said Colle, who is also councillor for Ward 15 Eglinton-Lawrence.

He described Scheidt & Bachmann as “an industry leader,” but acknowledged “when you start to see this level of ineffectiveness, it is a concern.”

“So that’s why I know our CEO is pressing ... them to get this right, and they’re committing to do this,” he said.

Although most of the installation work is being halted, the one exception is Union Station.

The TTC couldn’t afford to have a fare line out of commission at such a busy hub, and so construction will continue with a Scheidt & Bachmann technician on-site “until we are assured the operation is stable,” according to the CEO’s report.

The implementation of Presto on the TTC is a joint effort of the city’s transit agency and Metrolinx, the provincial Crown corporation in charge of transportation for the GTHA.

Metrolinx owns Presto, but the fare gates are the responsibility and property of the TTC. The Toronto agency has budgeted $50 million to install them.

Last June, the transportation ministry revealed Metrolinx is expected to spend $385 million to put Presto on the TTC, $130 million more than the agency estimated in 2012.

The project is a crucial component of the TTC’s modernization plan. All buses and streetcars have already been equipped with Presto devices, and once the automatic gates are installed on the subway, the TTC will be able to eliminate older, apparently less efficient fare media such as tickets and tokens.

Transit agencies around the world made that transition years ago.

Since its deployment on the TTC began in 2010, the fare card system has suffered reliability problems, including faulty readers on buses and streetcars, and sluggish payment machines.

The TTC is negotiating with Metrolinx to be reimbursed for lost fare revenue as a result of misfiring Presto readers. Metrolinx has not agreed to pay, and argues that the TTC actually owes it money. Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the bus and streetcar card readers now have reliability rates higher than 95 per cent, and the organization is “very pleased” with their performance.