If you're a regular commuter on the TTC, you might've come across certain advertisements in recent weeks that remind customers of the transit agency's implementation of debit and credit payments across all subway station fare gates, streetcars, buses, and Wheel-Trans vehicles. 

In the ad, the TTC reminds customers that they can now use basically almost anything to pay for their fare — except with bowling balls, of course. 

Funny PRESTO ad.
byu/cindybubbles inTTC

The head-scratching poster recently caught the attention of Paxton Marchiafava, a student studying electromechanical engineering technology at Humber College. 

In a new YouTube video titled "I broke the rules of Toronto's transit system," Marchiafava decides to take the advertisement literally, and combines his skills to encase a Presto card inside a bowling ball — and it actually worked. 

"I decided to do this because I saw one of the posters in the subway and I let my mind wander, eventually coming up with the idea to do exactly what the sign says not to do," Marchiafava told blogTO. 

The video shows the student leaving Humber College and tapping his Presto card to board a bus. After arriving at Royal York subway station, he notices the poster, which reads, "Now, even more new ways to pay on the TTC." 

The second half of the video shows Marchiafava constructing his bowling ball, which involved 3D-printing two halves of a shell, gluing a Presto card to the inside, filling it with concrete, and melting the plastic of both halves together to create the sphere. 

After creating his masterpiece, Marchiafava boarded a TTC bus to test out his one-of-a-kind Presto ball. Almost immediately, his hard work was verified by the payment machine's signature "beep," which surprisingly managed to read the card. 

Marchiafava estimates that he's probably used the bowling ball about "10 times" now. "I have gotten some pretty strange looks from the drivers. They haven't said anything but it's pretty obvious that they are confused by it," he told blogTO. 

If you were thinking about replicating Marchiafava's creation, his conclusion at the end of the video may change your mind. 

"This thing sucks. A bowling ball is heavy and unnatural to carry around," he explained. "If this is a recommendation, then I'm in full support, but if this is a rule, then I'm sorry, Toronto law enforcers."​