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Los Angeles Metro Transit System Plans to Support Apple Pay This Fall
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LA has a public transport system? Whaaat
he probably means the most mileage and line connections/routes. service is not always reliable but that is to be expected with millions riding daily. a year or so back, a cat or racoon i forget hopped on the D line train tracks at atlantic ave barclay center and delayed trains for 2 hours during pm rush hour. they had to call animal control to remove it because, you know, PETA. then, a few days ago a water main shut down L service from bedford in brooklyn up to 8th av in manhattan. things go wrong as the system is far and wide.
It's like comparing the Flintstones to the Jetsons, I am so sorry to say.
I stand corrected. Are you sure they do not apply a monthly fare cap? It may, for some people, definitely be cheaper to buy an annual pass. But I guess I am such an optimist that I hope that at any point, I may not have to use the dreaded tube any more.
I'm from London (though moved out a few years ago) and have liked the NYC subway when I've visited - the Tube in London is better in some ways but things the subway has that we don't include the express trains (Tubes in London all stop at all stations), 24-hour service, air-conditioned trains (some are nowadays in London but the deep-level lines never will be, and are horrible in the summer!), and the fact that it is much cheaper to use than anything in the UK (though the MetroCards themselves kinda suck compared with the convenience of just using your contactless credit card or phone as we have been able to in London for years!) - have always found it to be very convenient and easy to use, and as a tourist it's one of the many iconic things in NYC!
On the subject of LA, when I visited a couple of years ago I was pleased to find that getting around LA without a car being impossible was in fact a myth - while not as comprehensive as somewhere like NYC or London, the subway/rail/bus system in LA was certainly good enough to get me to all the places I wanted to visit as a tourist!
I was slightly less impressed by San Francisco/the Bay Area to be honest - despite supposedly being the most high-tech place on the planet, to visit Infinite Loop I had to take a somewhat old-fashioned and infrequent train out from the city and then switch to the bus, they don't really have a city-wide equivalent to the subway (amazing city though, loved it!)
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I ride the LA Metro every week to work. If you happen to live near one of their locations, it's great. The big problem is zero enforcement of people riding without paying. Unlike other US metro systems that require payment to get thru the turnstiles, the LA metro is just open to all. It's on the honor system. Insane.
Also, maybe cut back to three homeless people or less per car. The smell can be a bit overwhelming most days.
Also, maybe cut back to three homeless people or less per car. The smell can be a bit overwhelming most days.
Nothing wrong with having own opinion. Just suggesting you should visit Hong Kong.
I take it you’ve never used the subway in NYC much? Metrocards can be very finicky, especially if you’re a tourist and haven’t perfected the proper swipe technique.
A few years ago, there did a REGIONAL trial/test around NYC of contactless credit cards payment on public transit. All of the #87 buses between Jersey City and Hoboken had a payment reader. A single turnstile on the PATH train in Hoboken had a reader along with one at the 14th st station in NYC. Finally, there were 1-2 readers on the L train at 6th and Union Sq. So, in theory, you could travel from Jersey City Heights to the Upper West Side using only your credit card (harder getting back, since only two subway stations had the reader).
It was a failure. Reason: no discounts. Low-income and seniors and children get discounts on all three services, around 50% on each. The CC only supported full fares. On the other side, your average daily commuter usually has a monthly pass, also discounted. Additionally, these daily plus the semi-daily (like me) commuters probably have a Transit Flexible Spending Account through their employer. This means they get bus tickets and subway cards mailed to them or perhaps they get a "Transit Credit Card". All of this is pre-tax and discounted, so basically, what ever your effective tax rate it, called it 20%.
The Transit Credit Cards that I've had do not have a chip in them. Also, with the PATH at least, there is some oddity around storing and using them for recurring charges (like auto-refilling my PATH card). I haven't tried storing this card on my Apple Watch, but it would be a good test (though the trail ended, so I could never test this).
No matter what NYC implements, the billing system must support discounts. And better, get one single regional transit card. The MetroCard works on both PATH and NYC Bus/Subway - NYC should adopt the PATH card too since its used by a significant number of people already. NJT can move to adopt this too.
My £0.02.
It was a failure. Reason: no discounts. Low-income and seniors and children get discounts on all three services, around 50% on each. The CC only supported full fares. On the other side, your average daily commuter usually has a monthly pass, also discounted. Additionally, these daily plus the semi-daily (like me) commuters probably have a Transit Flexible Spending Account through their employer. This means they get bus tickets and subway cards mailed to them or perhaps they get a "Transit Credit Card". All of this is pre-tax and discounted, so basically, what ever your effective tax rate it, called it 20%.
The Transit Credit Cards that I've had do not have a chip in them. Also, with the PATH at least, there is some oddity around storing and using them for recurring charges (like auto-refilling my PATH card). I haven't tried storing this card on my Apple Watch, but it would be a good test (though the trail ended, so I could never test this).
No matter what NYC implements, the billing system must support discounts. And better, get one single regional transit card. The MetroCard works on both PATH and NYC Bus/Subway - NYC should adopt the PATH card too since its used by a significant number of people already. NJT can move to adopt this too.
My £0.02.
MBTA has a contract with the same company they just signed with the same people who manages London/SF/LA/NYC/Chicago/Tucson, AZ/Sydney/Melbourne/San DiegoAwesome news!!!
I’m from Boston, MA so I hope my transit system, MBTA, starts accepting Apple Pay soon!
Apple Pay is coming to all of you!!
And don’t forget a lot of transit agencies already accept Apple Pay, just within a proprietary app.
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Do you know that an American company installed TFL’s Contactless system? Cubic transportation systems.
Which by the way, Chicago, Portland, and Utah have the same system is London. Tap any Contactless card.
LA has a transit system? Joking aside this is good news. Apply pay is beginning to become a dominant player.
They do, it’s called the Muni. I used to take it every day for work when I lived there. Most of its runs as light rail above ground though. It’s just not as extensive as some other cities. It has been undergoing expansions for the last decade or so though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muni_Metro
I’m guessing you took the Caltrain out of SF to get down to the Apple offices. I’m surprised you said outdated though, I used to take it occasionally and found them to be pretty much identical to the commuter trains I’ve taken in Europe.
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This issue is these transit systems are governed by three different transit agencies that belong to completely different states. The NYC subway and buses, plus the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North, are governed by the MTA which is controlled by New York State. The PATH trains are governed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is governed by a committee appointed by the governors of NY and NJ. NJ Transit is governed by New Jersey. Funding, and therefore revenue taken in from fares, for these different systems are from three different sources. It’s not as simple as just switching over the payment system.
Let’s take your PATH example. Yes, you can use your Metrocard on it but only if it’s loaded with value and not time. Meaning if your Metrocard is loaded with a dollar amount you can use it but if you have an unlimited weekly or monthly Metrocard you can not use that on a PATH train. In that situation you’d literally be taking money away from the MTA and giving to to the Port Authority because whereas if you have $2.75 on your Metrocard and pay for PATH the MTA took $2.75 in and gave $2.75 out but if you have unlimited the MTA would still be giving $2.75 out but very likely got less than $2.75 (per subway/bus ride) out of you if you used your unlimited card more times than the break even point.
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Go to Tokyo. Their transit system is much better than New York's and it has the added benefits of being extremely clean and safe. No dirty seats, no garbage everywhere, and no bums or crazy people causing a scene on the train. Some stops during rush hour can be sardine packed, but other than that, it was a joy to ride.
I mean, most of the transit systems outside the US are tremendously better. I'm talking about with what we got.
Lived in NY for 12 years. My observation has less to do with transit cards and more to do with word choice. Finicky is another favorite of Apple fans. It's not just in relation to transit cards. It's in relation to anything that is compared to something Apple is offering. Everything else is described as finicky, clunky, fumbling, etc. Mind you, these are things and activities we've had and done for years with no issues. Suddenly they become... well, you know.
In
the original version of the story the word “city” didn’t appear after “New York” making it seem like New York City was home to 20 million people. The story has since been corrected and therefore my comment seems irrelevant.
Soon if a business doesn’t take Apple Pay, it’ll be like going to a business that’s cash only!
[doublepost=1548435438][/doublepost]Also guys check your own city, you guys may already have an app for transit that supports Apple Pay. New Jersey (NJTransit) , San Diego (Compass Cloud), Phoenix (Pass2Go) and Dallas/Fort Worth (GoPass) come to mind! It’s not Apple Pay directly on the bus/train but it’s the next best thing, you Apple Pay in the app to get the pass!
Also for parking, ParkMobile has Apple Pay to Pay parking meters.
Seriously it’s everywhere, you just need to look!
Also when is this stuff coming to SF muni??
I was a New Yorker, and sadly this is the view held by many. Many New Yorkers say NYC is the best city in the world without having lived much outside NYC.
Having said that, I do think NYC has the best overall subway network in the United States. It pales to more modernized subways around the world, but it's the most comprehensive network I rode in US.
Actually, a lot of West Coast ones operate on the same system. The key is that the enforcement happens often enough that it gives most fare evaders pause before doing it. (In LA's case, they were checking everyone's cards when I exited out to Santa Monica last month.)
SLC doesn't support Apple Pay anymore, citing "low use".
SLC still has an app called GoRide that has Apple Pay in it. I think they thought this was cheaper than EMV Contactless readers