Byzantine Presto website hard to navigate

Re: Nearly 175,000 Presto cards issued, Oct. 17. I’m a bit surprised that OC Transpo general manager John Manconi is confounded over the lack of uptake on the special features of the Presto card. A former EcoPass holder, I was just issued a Presto card on Monday and immediately went to register the card and set up an auto load of my monthly pass.

After several frustrating and fruitless attempts at trying to navigate the Byzantine Presto website, it certainly isn’t any secret to me why people are so slow to take up use of the Presto card features. The site is a torture to use — registration cannot be completed until the card is used, and even then you may have to wait for up to 48 hours.

Setting up a monthly auto-load is impossible to do unless one purchases a pass in person at an OC Transpo service counter or fill out a paper form and mail it to Metrolinx. This last bit of information was passed on to me by a Presto telephone agent who could not guarantee that purchasing a monthly pass online would be sufficient to allow me to set up the pass auto load feature through the website. When the local businesses (i.e. Tim Hortons) have similar systems in place that require far less effort, and no 48-hour lag time, it should not come as a shock to OC Transpo management when these vaunted features are not being used.

Jumping through multiple hoops to set up a simple pay card is not what consumers are used to these days. Make a card and ensure that the background technology is easy to use, is straightforward and friendly, and people will likely start using these features. I know I would.

KEVIN FINN, Osgoode