Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Pay With Express Transit Mode Now Available in Chicago

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,539
30,848


The Chicago Transit Authority today announced that Ventra now supports Apple Pay with Express Transit mode, allowing the fare card to be added to the Wallet app on a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch for tap-and-go payment at train stations and on buses.

chicago-ventra-apple-pay.jpeg

Express Transit mode allows users to pay for rides without having to wake or unlock their iPhone or Apple Watch, or open the Ventra app. The mode also bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Users simply need to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the contactless payment reader until a checkmark appears on the display.
With your Ventra Card on iPhone and Apple Watch it's easier than ever to get around on CTA and Pace. Just tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for rides using transit value or passes. No fumbling to grab a separate transit card, open apps or even wake your device — it's that easy!

And get the same features of a Ventra Card on your iPhone and Apple Watch, including the ability to load and manage transit value and CTA and Pace passes, autoload, pre-tax transit benefits from your employer, account management features in the Ventra app and more!
Click to expand...
How to add a Ventra card to the Wallet app:
  • Open the Ventra app on your iPhone and tap the "Cards" tab
  • Select the Ventra card you want to add
  • Press the "Add to Apple Wallet" button and follow the on-screen instructions
Special fare program cards, such as RTA Reduced Fare, Student Ventra cards, or U-Pass cards, cannot be added to the Wallet app at this time. It is also not possible to add a Ventra card to the Wallet app on more than one device at a time, according to the CTA, which says to add the card only to the iPhone or Apple Watch you wish to use when you ride.

After adding an existing Ventra card to the Wallet app, the plastic version will no longer be functional and cannot be reloaded.

Apple Pay with Express Transit mode went live in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. earlier this year, with other supported U.S. cities including New York and Portland.

(Thanks, Anthony!)

Article Link: Apple Pay With Express Transit Mode Now Available in Chicago
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/26/chicago-ventra-card-now-supports-apple-pay/
J

jtlg

macrumors newbie
Oct 20, 2014
5
0
Let's hope it works out of the gate as opposed to the Comedy Malaise when Ventra took over Chicago initially.
 
A

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Oct 23, 2010
7,298
3,047
Why didn't Apple do this for any of the Bayarea public transportation like Caltrain or BART or AC Transit?
 
GW2K

GW2K

macrumors newbie
Oct 8, 2015
4
1
Option to “add to Apple Wallet” not available on reduced fare passes.
 
T

tmiw

macrumors 68030
Jun 26, 2007
2,519
605
San Diego, CA
AdonisSMU said:
Why didn't Apple do this for any of the Bayarea public transportation like Caltrain or BART or AC Transit?
Click to expand...

It's up to the individual transit agency to support it, not Apple. And in the case of the Bay Area, the readers currently don't support anything other than the physical Clipper card (and no indication that it'll be supported any time soon).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kengineer and iGeneo
IIGS User

IIGS User

macrumors 65816
Feb 24, 2019
1,099
3,080
Attirex said:
Mac related articles about transit = always good times spent reading comments from locals grousing and complaining about their particular system. :)
Click to expand...
Because there's NO REASON the transit systems in major metro areas using contactless payment shouldn't be doing this by now. No reason at all.

I live in Philly, and use the train now and again. They just finally rolled out Septa Key on regional rail, which I have to say compared to buying tickets or carrying cash to give a conductor is pretty freakin' awesome. It's a decent system and so far, I'm pretty happy with it.

But I can't see why they can't make this work with any NFC device like Apple or Google pay on iOS or Android. it's either a contractual issue that someone is making a buck off of, or a local pissing match.

This being Philly, I'm banking on both....
 
  • Like
Reactions: ISprainedMyUvula
Hyperchaotic

Hyperchaotic

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2005
280
356
iShater said:
What an excellent time to release it when most of us are not using it.
Click to expand...
Indeed, rolling out new features to a payment system when there are fewer users is not the worst thing to do. It shouldn't be a big change and one wouldn't expect a lot of issues but ya never know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ISprainedMyUvula
naturalstar

naturalstar

macrumors demi-goddess
Mar 9, 2012
2,795
5,776
I would have gotten more use out of it if it had been implemented while I still lived in the city, especially for the time period I didn't have a car. The pandemic won't last forever, so this will still have a place for where the use cases make sense.
 
I

ISprainedMyUvula

macrumors member
May 7, 2017
47
61
IIGS User said:
Because there's NO REASON the transit systems in major metro areas using contactless payment shouldn't be doing this by now. No reason at all.

I live in Philly, and use the train now and again. They just finally rolled out Septa Key on regional rail, which I have to say compared to buying tickets or carrying cash to give a conductor is pretty freakin' awesome. It's a decent system and so far, I'm pretty happy with it.

But I can't see why they can't make this work with any NFC device like Apple or Google pay on iOS or Android. it's either a contractual issue that someone is making a buck off of, or a local pissing match.

This being Philly, I'm banking on both....
Click to expand...
You were always able to use Apple Pay on CTA for single fares using any credit or debit card you had on your phone. There just wasn’t an easy way to make it work with a pass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom