Archive for TTC

TTC Reverses Course On Killing Free WiFi In The Subway…. For Now

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 25, 2024 by itnerd

I woke up this morning to the news that at least for now, the TTC which had announced that free WiFi was going away in Toronto’s subway system will stay for now:

The service will now continue at least until studies are done on the impact of the move on vulnerable riders — including youth, women and people with low-income. 

TTC staff will also consider a plan to establish a pilot for free Wi-Fi on bus and street platforms, as well as bays at stations, according to the motion, put forward by Coun. Josh Matlow. 

I was never completely comfortable with this decision as I am sure it was predicated on the fact that now that 5G cell service is available in the subway, that the TTC didn’t need to spend the cash to upgrade WiFi. The problem with that logic is that this is Canada and Canada has some of the highest costs for cell phone service on the planet. So there’s plenty of people who would be adversely affected by this decision in my mind. As long as the TTC seriously looks at this again and makes a decision that is based on logic and facts, I’m fine with them keeping WiFi in the subway around.

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TTC To End Free WiFi In Subway Stations…. I Can Argue This Both Ways

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2024 by itnerd

News filtered out at the end of last week that the TTC is going to kill off their free WiFi service in the subway system at the end of the year. Here’s the reason why:

The TConnect system was launched more than a decade ago and the transit agency says concerns over the age of the technology and infrastructure related to reliability/performance along with security for users were behind the decision to discontinue the free service.

“We’ve also seen a 65 per cent drop in use of TConnect since 5G connectivity for all carriers was introduced,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green tells CityNews.

“And then there’s the cost – $17 million to upgrade the infrastructure to address performance and security issues does not feel like a wise investment. We think our customers would rather see that money spent on our core business – safe and reliable transit service.”

Green says they will continue to work with Rogers to build out the 5G network and enhance connectivity on the TTC while improving the customer experience.

If Rogers completes the 5G rollout, which I am pretty sure that they will as they have the Federal Government holding their feet to the fire, then this is a complete non-issue. Besides, there’s this:

So you might think I am all for this decision. Right? Well. Not quite. The other side of this is that you would have to use 5G or 4G LTE data instead. And since Toronto is part of Canada, and Canada has some of the highest prices on planet Earth for cellular data, that is going to hurt low income people who may not be able to afford a cell phone plan with a lot of data. And there’s the fact that Rogers 5G rollout in the subway isn’t scheduled to be done until 2026. If the the TTC pulled the plug then, I think it would be less of an issue. But the fact that they’re doing it at the end of the year makes this an immediate problem for those on lower incomes. Finally, GO Transit is aggressively rolling out free WiFi on their buses and trains. And both are overseen by the agency that runs Transit in the Greater Toronto Area which is Metrolinx. Which means you have one transit provider who has free WiFi, and one that doesn’t. That doesn’t seem consistent to me.

I don’t know what the right answer is, but my feeling is that the TTC might want to do a rethink of this as I am not sure that they have thought this through completely and taken into account all the various angles of them killing WiFi in the subway system.

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Moneris Supports TTC with Solution For Credit And Debit Payments

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 11, 2023 by itnerd

Starting August 15, it’ll be easier and more convenient for passengers who take the TTC in Toronto to pay their fare as the transit system will have an option to tap an Interac debit or credit card on PRESTO devices.

Moneris, Canada’s largest provider of innovative solutions for mobile, online and in-store payments, is excited to be supporting the TTC with an open loop payment solution, which will provide a seamless and secure process for paying, giving commuters more options and convenient ways to pay.  

Moneris is proud to work with transit authorities and their technology partners across the country to improve rider experience. They have been long-time partners to multiple transit systems like STL in Quebec, Translink in BC and others across Ontario for Metrolinx. 

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TTC Releases App To Pay For Fares…. It Quickly Gets Spoofed To Enable Free Fares

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 15, 2015 by itnerd

The Toronto Transit Commission or TTC for short is a transit system that is behind the times. Most notably in the way you pay your fare as it still uses tickets, tokens and paper transfers. All of that is very 20th century. But in the interests of being hip and cool during the Pan Am Games which is being held in Toronto, the TTC released an app called TTCconnect that allows users to buy day passes on their iOS or Android smartphone. That’s a positive step forward, right?

It is, unless someone decides to pwn the TTC to get free rides while looking like they have legitimately paid a fare via their smartphone. Oh, wait. Someone did. Here’s what Metro News had to say:

Dan Crampton posted an app that spoofs TTCconnect to GitHub, a popular code hosting website, on Saturday. The visual effects, the colour changes, and the scrolling logo the developers included to deter forgers are all identical to the real thing, he said in an email.

“It was really, really, really easy,” he wrote. “It’s some basic animations, a TTC logo, and some text using the default iOS system font.”

Crampton said he has no intention of using his app. He called anyone who does an “idiot.”

“I don’t know how much [the TTC] spent on it, but it’s a pretty terrible product. I don’t know how anyone would look at this and think ‘Yes, this is a good idea,’” he wrote.

The TTC says that anyone caught using this spoofing technique will get nailed by the cops. But let’s face facts. The TTC, and perhaps Bytemark Inc. who is a NYC based company who wrote the app for them likely didn’t really think this through in terms of saying “Hey, we want to provide this service. But let’s not open up ourselves to getting pwned.” Plus I suspect, but I have no proof that they might have done this at the last minute to have it available for the Pan Am Games.

Now to be fair, the TTC is moving towards using Presto which is an electronic payment system similar to those used in cities such as London UK. But the fact is that if it rolled out that system or one like it years ago, we would not be talking about this less than well thought out app now.

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