PRESTO Reaches Over Half a Million Users, Announces Winners of Customer Appreciation Contest

TORONTO, April 12, 2013 /CNW/ - PRESTO is now used by over half a million transit riders across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

To mark this milestone, PRESTO is pleased to announce the winners of the "500,000^th Customers" contest and would like to congratulate Angie MacKinnon, a Brampton Transit rider, for winning the top prize of a $500 voucher that will be loaded onto her PRESTO card.

"Thank you to all our PRESTO cardholders for enthusiastically embracing PRESTO!  We are excited to have reached - and now surpassed - the 500,000 cardholder mark. The number of cardholders has tripled in the last year and we are pleased to show customers how much we appreciate them," said Robert Hollis, Executive Vice President PRESTO.

Nearly 24,000 people entered the contest in March for a chance to win one of 10 prizes, including the top prize of a $500 PRESTO voucher.

Other commuters from each of the PRESTO-enabled transit systems in Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area were also randomly selected to receive a $250 PRESTO voucher. They include:

• Judy Ahlgren (GO Transit)
• Alex Fiorello (Hamilton Street Railway)
• Jo Ann deGroot (Burlington Transit)
• Carrie MacDowell (Oakville Transit)
• Mary Lynn Merklinger (Miway)
• Laura Billingsley (York Region Transit)
• Innah Gelido (Durham Region Transit)
• Wendy Reid (TTC)

PRESTO is growing rapidly, more than tripling in size from approximately 140,000 cardholders in March 2012 to over 530,000 people today who are tapping their PRESTO cards to get on public transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

PRESTO is a state-of-the-art electronic fare system that allows riders to pay their fare and travel seamlessly and conveniently with just one card across the region. PRESTO is fully deployed across GO Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, Burlington Transit, Brampton Transit, Oakville Transit, Miway, York Region Transit, and Durham Region Transit. It is also available at 14 TTC subway stations.

Metrolinx is working to provide residents and businesses in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area with a transportation system that is modern, efficient and integrated.

• Find out more about The Big Move a transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
• Find out more about PRESTO, Union Pearson Express and GO Transit, divisions of Metrolinx.
  

SOURCE: Metrolinx

Vanessa Thomas, [phone], [email protected]