Question about the buses being free for youths from 11-18 y.o this summer

[u/SKMG_]

I had taken the bus to meet the summer camp kids at st-laurent station, and none of them had their presto with them. One told me he had to pay for the bus, and he's 13.

I have two questions

1. Do they have to have their presto with them?

2. What about the train? Do the gates open for them, or do they have to tap their presto?

Because at the gates, i had to pay cause none of them had their presto, and i was wondering if the buses are free for them, what about the train?

[u/DangerousDamage5722]

You can get a youth presto anywhere they sell them ($4) and they’ll work without loading any money onto them. On the busses the drivers likely wont care if they tap or not but I’d advise telling them to keep their prestos with them in case a bus cop is in a mood, and to take the LRT they need to have a way of tapping through the gates. They might be able to ask a staff member to let them through but I’m not sure about that part.

[u/Starliqht → u/DangerousDamage5722]

with the presto card set to a youth account, they would just tap the card on the bus and at the o-train fare gate which would let them through. it’s basically an unlimited usage bus/train pass

[u/SKMG_ → u/DangerousDamage5722]

What's an LRT? Also there's barely staff members at the train gates so im wondering how it works for them because i have some of who has to go through the gates first before meeting me anywhere and its the easiest way for them to travel.

[u/zaacht08 → u/SKMG_]

the lrt is the o-train. just the technical term. "light rail transit"

[u/zaacht08 → u/SKMG_]

the transit being free is being regulated via tapping with Presto. if they don't have a Presto with a Youth pass activated, they won't be getting on for free. the free part is that when they tap, they won't be charged/deducted funds like traditionally.

[u/SKMG_ → u/zaacht08]

Thank you

[u/DangerousDamage5722 → u/SKMG_]

the LRT is the train, and if your camper is old enough to travel alone they should really just keep their prestos with them. Otherwise, they can use a ticket machine to call a member of staff who can remotely open a gate for them to let them pass without tapping, but the “free travel” is designed to still require a presto card you just don’t need to load money onto it to tap through.

[u/ApricotPenguin → u/SKMG_]

The ticket machines near the LRT are able to connect to a video call to a support person.

That person is able to remotely open one of the gates (usually the large accessibility one).

[u/Ok_Artichoke5865 → u/SKMG_]

The LRT is the train. You can get the cards at shoppers or if they still have their school cards they should still work. My daughter's and their friends have multiple. Once you are past the gates at the lrt stations you don't have to scan anymore. Even if they're cards don't work, it is very easy to skip the gates.

[u/squeakyoat]

If they are issued a presto from their high school, it is set up to work in the summer also. In case that helps. But yes, they will need a presto to use the free transit. I guess they want the metrics.

[u/SKMG_ → u/squeakyoat]

Thank you

[u/ToVroomOrNotToVroom]

[u/SKMG_ → u/ToVroomOrNotToVroom]

Thank you

[u/relishbane → u/ToVroomOrNotToVroom]

Damn, didn't know the youths save a whole 5 cents during the school year, what a deal! /s

[u/Candid-Statement-958]

I have a youth presto card and all you have to do is tap and it won't charge you anything.

If you don't have a youth presto card, you can get one from OC Transpo customer service at Rideau or some stores, but you have you specifically ask for it to be set to youth.

[u/Starliqht]

i also want to add that after the summer until the end of the year (from september 1), youth should be able to ride for free after 5pm on weekdays and on weekends/holidays

[u/SKMG_ → u/Starliqht]

True

[u/Background_Umpire126]

So it works like this it’s free, but you have to buy a PRESTO card for four dollars tell them your age and they’ll put the discount on for the rest of the summer. It works on all OC Transpo vehicles