Co-fare discounts with PRESTO

PRESTO will calculate and deduct the co-fare discount for your local transit trip to or from a PRESTO activated GO Train station. However, during the initial stages of the larger PRESTO implementation, the full co-fare discount will only apply to the first 35 one-way trips per calendar month which include travel on both the GO Train and local transit.  Full functionality for co-fares with local transit systems will be available at a later date.  Until then, customers who travel by GO Train more than 35 times per month and use local transit to get to or from the GO Train station, should continue to use existing GO tickets or passes.    

Here are some examples of how co-fares work with PRESTO.

PRESTO card with default trip feature set:

• In the morning, Sue taps on when she boards the Oakville Transit bus to the Oakville GO Station and the Oakville Transit fare is deducted from her card’s e-purse. Before boarding the train, Sue taps on at Oakville station and pays her GO fare. PRESTO’s smartcard technology recognizes that Sue should only be paying the co-fare for the Oakville Transit trip so her GO fare is reduced accordingly.
  
• In the evening when Sue is travelling home, she taps on at Union Station and her GO fare to Oakville station is deducted from her card’s e-purse. When Sue taps on while boarding the connecting Oakville Transit bus at the station, the co-fare is deducted from her card’s e-purse. Again, the PRESTO system realizes that Sue has just travelled on the GO Train and therefore qualifies for the co-fare.

PRESTO card without default trip feature set:

•  In the morning, John taps on when he boards the Oakville Transit bus to the Bronte GO Station and the Oakville Transit fare is deducted from his card’s e-purse. Before boarding the train, John taps on at Bronte station and pays a minimum GO fare.* When John taps off at Union Station, PRESTO’s smartcard technology recognizes that he should be credited for part of his Oakville Transit fare, and his GO fare will be adjusted accordingly.
  
• In the evening, when John is travelling home, he taps on at Union Station and a minimum GO fare is deducted from his card’s e-purse. When he taps off at Bronte, the remaining balance of his GO fare will be deducted from his e-purse. When John taps on his connecting Oakville Transit bus at the station, the co-fare is deducted from his card’s e-purse.

*GO minimum fare is $4.20. Fares and discounts are subject to change. For details about default trip settings, please refer to the How to Use PRESTO on GO Transit user guide.

If the local bus that you take to or from the GO station is not PRESTO activated, local fares in cash, tickets or tokens can be paid. You will not be able to pay the discounted fare by showing your PRESTO card to the driver.