TTC passengers may have been double-charged en masse due to major Presto error

Transit riders have yet another thing to complain about, as mass reports emerged on Sunday of TTC passengers being double-charged on what should have been free taps using the system's two-hour transfers.

Several social media accounts emerged on Sunday asking whether two-hour transfers had been quietly pulled. The flood of complaints just so happened to coincide with the first day of Daylight Saving Time in 2023. I'll come back to this fact in a minute.

Did the #TTC cancel 2 hour free transfers? I was just charged twice on my presto for a 1.5 hr trip. @ttchelps

— Ash (@AshChaChaHeels) March 12, 2023

Riders who had woken up to clocks springing forward on Sunday reported being charged a second fare after re-tapping their Presto cards within the two-hour allotted window.

@TTChelps presto transfers only lasting 1 hour today, is this a system bug due to the time change or a new policy?

— Sabin10 (@Sabin10) March 12, 2023

Unfortunately, it appears that a handful of Presto machines had missed the time change memo, and were still reading transfers as one hour earlier than the actual time on clocks.

@PRESTOcard morning March 13, 2023 it appears the time displayed when tapping on a TTC streetcar Presto device did not reflect daylight saving time, potentially interfering with two hour transfer for trips involving TTC transfer(s).

— Junsun Wei (@JunsunWei) March 13, 2023

The TTC relayed to customers that the issue is the result of a faulty firmware update, an issue expected to be corrected on Monday night.

We’ve been advised by @PRESTOcard of a firmware update impacting 2hr transfer taps.
If 1st tap is on a new device and next tap is an old device, only 1 hour is registered.
Being fixed tonight.
Refunds for a fare charged during 2hr window available through @TTChelps 416-393-3030.

— TTC Media Relations 📰🚌🚋🚈 (@TTCNewsroom) March 13, 2023

But that hasn't stopped the flood of passengers complaining about paying extra fares.

Presto and Metrolinx have been responding to social media posts, and are assuring customers that anyone who paid an extra fare due to the glitch will be refunded within five days.

Good Afternoon, Carlo. We are sorry this has happened to you. Yes, it is a known issue and out team is working to resolve it. Once resolved, you will see the funds return to your PRESTO card within 5 business days. ^CC

— PRESTO card (@PRESTOcard) March 13, 2023

One rider even commented about how convenient the TTC's two-hour transfer system is on the same day of the outage, possibly only to get a rude surprise on his Presto bill.

You can hop off to pee and hop back on since TTC has free 2-hour transfers!

— sunny at urbanists.social (@_blahblahblah) March 12, 2023

So if you're suddenly wondering why your Presto card needs funds restocked sooner than anticipated, it's just one more reason to be disgruntled about Daylight Saving Time.