Where to Buy a PRESTO Card or PRESTO Ticket?
At the PRESTO vending machines located at the entrance of any subway station or at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
You can also load balance onto your card or add a monthly pass, which provides unlimited trips on any TTC service for the entire month. There are discounts available for seniors, school students, and university students.
To purchase a discounted pass, you need to bring your PRESTO card to a Shoppers Drug Mart store or to the TTC Customer Service Centre (Davisville subway station) so that representatives can adjust the settings on your card. Additionally, you should have a government-issued ID or a TTC post-secondary student card if you are studying at a college or university in Toronto.
To obtain a TTC student card, you must go to the TTC Photo ID Office at Bathurst station and provide an officer with your class schedule or an enrollment letter from your university program, as well as identification. The cost of the TTC student card in 2020 was $5.25, and it is advisable to pay cash.
Monthly passes can only be purchased online at prestocard.ca. New passes go on sale 12 days before the beginning of the upcoming month.
Purchase discounted passes only after your card has been reconfigured! Standard passes do not require card reconfiguration.
How to Top Up Your Card Balance?
You can top up your card balance using special PRESTO machines, available at any subway station. There are two types of machines that look different. In the narrower machines (Self-Serve Reload Machines), you can only top up your card balance. In the wider machines (Fare Vending Machines), you can both pay for a trip and purchase the PRESTO card itself.
Additionally, you can also top up your balance online through your personal account on the prestocard.ca portal
Who is Required to Pay for Transit?
Every person over 12 years old is required to have their own PRESTO card or PRESTO ticket. The same rule applies for a one-day PRESTO pass.
High school students aged 16-19 are required to carry a high school photo identification or another government-issued ID (such as a driver’s license or Ontario photo card) and present it upon request by TTC staff.
University students must carry a TTC post-secondary student card if they are using a discounted monthly pass.
People over 65 years old are also required to carry a TTC senior’s photo identification or another government-issued ID (such as a driver’s license or Ontario photo card) and present it upon request by TTC staff.
How to Use Your Ticket?
Each time you enter the transit, simply tap your PRESTO card or ticket at the special fare payment terminal located at the entrances of the bus, streetcar, or subway station.
Transfers
If you are paying with a PRESTO card, you are subject to the two-hour transfer rule, which allows you to switch to any mode of public transportation in any direction absolutely free within two hours after paying your fare. When transferring, you still need to tap your card at the fare payment terminals, but the money will not be deducted from it.
Intercity Transport
If you need to travel outside of Toronto, you can use the services of other carriers – Viva or Go Transit. The payment for the fare is done in the same manner, but with Go Transit, you need to tap your card at the terminal twice: upon boarding and when exiting the transport. This is because the routes of these companies are divided into zones – the further you travel, the more you pay. If you exit before the route is completed and forget to tap your card, you will be charged for the entire route. Please be careful!
