Transit agencies in major cities like London, New York, and Washington, D.C. have recently rolled out support for or expanded availability of Apple Pay for contactless fare payment using an iPhone or Apple Watch.
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Given this trend, MacRumors reached out to transit agencies in additional cities across North America to inquire about their Apple Pay plans:
- Philadelphia: SEPTA plans to start supporting Apple Pay and mobile ticketing next year. The rollout may begin as early as the second quarter of 2020, but the timeline is not firm yet.
- Boston: MBTA says Apple Pay with Express Transit mode will be piloted in 2022 and rolled out widely in 2023. This will include CharlieCard fare card integration in the Wallet app.
- San Diego: SDMTS plans to begin implementing a new fare payment system in late 2020 with support for mobile wallets like Apple Pay. No plans for Compass Card integration in the Wallet app at this time.
- Toronto: Metrolinx says it is working toward initiating a limited pilot program to test out new forms of payment in 2020. In April 2018, Metrolinx reportedly said riders would be able to pay their fare by tapping their smartphone against a PRESTO reader in "far less than five years."
- Montréal: STM plans to support Apple Pay around 2022-2023 for credit cards, but not the OPUS fare card.
We'll update this list if any other transit agencies respond.
Apple Pay with Express Transit mode allows for tap-and-go payment, eliminating the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. The device does not need to be waked or unlocked, either.
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Top Rated Comments
As much as I’d love this and want it yesterday, we have far more pressing priorities; such as the old trains falling apart, the new trains falling apart, stations on fire, the third rail igniting if a trash rat even looks at it, elevators out of service, anything with wheels derailing with regularity, anything without wheels also derailing with regularity, a carrier-pigeon based signaling system from the 1890s, and a state government that’d rather rebuild seven stretches of highway before even deigning to tangentially acknowledge our public transportation crisis.
They clearly have absolutely no clue about technology, which is very frustrating being in one of the biggest tech hubs in the world.