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Calls growing for smart transit cards on TTC
24 Mar 2011

Calls are growing for smart transit cards to be implemented on Toronto subway.

Following the appointment of Chris Upfold from Transport for London (TfL) as the Toronto Transit Commission's first chief customer service officer, it is hoped that new innovations will be brought to the network.

Commenting in the National Post, Chris Selley suggested that many of the problems that currently exist for the TTC are so simple, that solutions were found in other cities decades ago.

"Smart cards please," he wrote. "For the love of God. It's 2011. My personal TTC approval rating bottoms out on freezing cold winter nights when, leaving the National Post bunker, I trudge ten minutes out of my way to buy tokens.

"Hopefully Mr Upfold will lend his voice to the campaign to free us of this antediluvian madness."

Other innovations the columnist hopes to see include mobile phone signals underground and efforts to prevent bringing "triple-sized" baby strollers onto carriages.

Since its launch in London, Oyster has been a great success, with more than 80 per cent of all journeys run by TfL being paid for via the contactless smart cards.