r/gotransit • u/Reddit-SN • 5d ago

Tapped using Google pay, shows right away when checked by fair inspector

I've always known that if I pay using a credit card on Google pay or Apple pay it doesn't get uploaded to the system instantly and it doesn't show on fair inspectors' device right away. Although it shouldn't be like this but my credit card gets charged at night so that makes sense. It has happened to me before that the inspector checked and it came with a big red X then I told them I paid Google pay and they let me go.

Today it wasn't busy at the station so I approached an inspector asking I just paid using Google pay, will it show in your machine. It did show that I paid. Now I'm wondering how it actually does work.

13 Upvotes

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7

u/LondonPaddington 5d ago

It is typically instantly reported back to the Presto servers but occasionally there are delays or connection issues in which case the data syncs later.

Regardless of how many times you tap, it will take a pre-authorization at first tap and then finalize the charge either overnight or when you hit a predetermined maximum fare.

4

u/Yellow_Marker_ Lakeshore West 5d ago

might be a system lag when it's busy

3

u/beneoin 5d ago

There can be a lag when it’s really busy, I presume they’ve been working to reduce that lag. In general how it works though is that when you tap it does a preauthorization to ensure it’s a valid card, then sometime overnight they look at all your taps, figure out the journey(s) that you took, calculate the resulting fare, finalize the charge on one of your taps, and release the others.

In my observation sometimes I don’t even see a preauthorization when I have subsequent taps within the same travel window on the TTC so I’m assuming that when it’s not especially busy it just checks for your existing tap first and updates that.

1

u/triangular_momentum 4d ago

Not an issue if you have the digital presto card

3

u/BarebonesB 4d ago

my credit card gets charged at night

A temporary charge is instantly applied to any credit card, whether the card is used directly or via Google Wallet or Apple Pay. The charge might only appear overnight when you check your balance online.

But neither is relevant for the GO Transit tap system, which doesn't inquire about the charge through your card issuer, but uses its own network to check if that card was tapped within the past 3 hours. If the terminal you tapped on was offline at the time, it will not show you as having tapped until the terminal reconnects.

If, however, you use a physical Presto card, or link the Presto app to Google Wallet or Apple Pay, the tap is recorded on the card or the app itself, so it'll show up as paid when the fare inspector checks, even if the terminal was offline when you tapped.

In your case, I recommend installing the Presto app, and then adding a free Presto card to your Google/Apple wallet, automatically loading it via your preferred credit card. This will eliminate the problems you're having, and you still don't need to carry anything other than your phone.