Visitors to Canada’s Greater Toronto area and other occasional users of Metrolinx’s Durham Region Transit (DRT) and Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) buses can now purchase, store and activate tickets on their smartphone without having to use cash or buy a Presto transit card as part of a project to give passengers more contactless and mobile payment options across the agency’s transit networks.

The newly launched Presto E-Tickets app enables passengers without a Presto card to buy tickets and save them directly to their mobile device so that they can be used even without an internet connection.

They can then tap their screen to activate their ticket shortly before boarding and show it on screen to the driver or fare inspector as proof of payment.

“Presto E-Tickets are a new convenient and touchless way for transit riders to pay for their fare,” Metrolinx’s Brandon Bernard explains.

“These new E-Tickets are ideal for occasional riders and visitors who may not have a Presto card. They can also be used for group travel as multiple tickets can be purchased, activated and then displayed for payment by one individual on one smartphone.”

“Presto E-Tickets will continue to evolve with new features for customers and Presto looks forward to expanding them to other transit agencies across the region,” he adds. “The rollout was accelerated to offer another cashless, touchless alternative during a time when safety is paramount.

“E-Tickets are part of plans to modernise Presto that will give customers across participating transit agencies more ways to pay – including by credit, debit, and mobile wallets in addition to Presto.

“New devices are already rolling out to support these new forms of payment and an open payment pilot is planned for our system later this year.”

Metrolinx originally announced its plans to pilot an open payment system in November 2019.

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