Presto card system glitches mostly fixed

"Significant progress" has been madeto fixglitches with OC Transpo's Presto smart card, the city's transit commission was told Friday.

The launch of OC Transpo's new electronic smart card is currentlyon hold until February.

The company behind it, Accenture, and the provincial agency that administers the system, Metrolinx, have been trying to fix the glitches.

Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig says white screen and reboot problems have been resolved, butthe screens have only been installed on 75 per centof the fleet. He added the Presto system still needs some more work.

There is still a minor issue with the screen on some buses, which McCuaig called a "power management" issue.

High success rate for trials

The riders with Presto trial cards also have a success rate of 95 per cent, McCuaig said.

Metrolinx has promised to pay for the added costs due to the delay. McCuaig estimated those costs in the range of $4 million to $7 million, depending on the speed of the rollout.

Another update to the transit commission will be provided in the fall.

The card was supposed to be in service by July 1. City officials, including transit commissioner Diane Deans, have expressed their anger over the delay.

On Friday morning, OC Transpo also unveiled the new double-decker buses that feature the Presto smart card readers.