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Another benefit of RFID and modern readers is integration with phones. I think Portland, OR is one of the few cities in the US with good support for this. - Yo
by noahtallen 5y ago
Another benefit of RFID and modern readers is integration with phones. I think Portland, OR is one of the few cities in the US with good support for this.
- Your phone (or watch) can act as an RFID transit card, even when it’s out of battery. (Using apple’s transit card program)
- Any terminal can accept mobile wallets
Maybe as a permanent resident, the difference isn’t quite as big compared to typical RFID cards — just one less thing to carry. But when someone visits, it’s so convenient to not have to acquire a transit card and load it up, or buy tickets, or download an app, or acquire cash or coins. Most other cities (in the US), it’s a whole ordeal to figure out exactly how to pay for the transit system, where to buy the cards, it’s different everywhere, etc. But in Portland, all you need to know is that the terminals accept Apple Pay in any bus or train, and you’re good to go. It’s fantastic! I wish other cities would adopt these sorts of terminals. It makes public transit much more appealing especially as a visitor.
- jeffbee 5y agoSF BART and other agencies using the Clipper system recently (within the last few weeks) rolled out mobile device support for iOS and Android. I was able to put my Clipper card into my iPhone by just tapping the phone on my card.
- clairity 5y agoLA metro rolled out the apple transit program for its TAP cards as well. the only weirdness about it is that transferring your card to the apple wallet renders your plastic chip card basically useless rather than remaining as a backup.
- TMWNN 5y agoThe SF Bay area got Apple Wallet support last week, too. I didn't want my physical card invalidated, so I created a new, virtual one from within Apple Wallet itself.
- wenc 5y agoWe have Apple Express Transit in Chicago too (Ventra) and it works great. The great part is one doesn’t need to unlock the phone — because of that its arguably more convenient than a transit card. I used Apple Express Transit with New York City’s OMNY system last weekend and it was similarly amazing. I brought my Metrocard with me just in case but never had to use it.
- djbeadle 5y ago> I think Portland, OR is one of the few cities in the US with good support for this. Agree with all of your following points but I just wanted to mention that every MTA subway station in NYC now supports digital wallet tap-to-pay as well as the buses. Unlimitted monthly or weekly passes still need a magnetic-strip metrocard but I canceled my unlimited plan in April 2020 when I stopped commuting, I haven't gotten my Metrocard out of my wallet in several months now.
- elyobo 5y agoMelbourne, Australia, has Google Pay support for the transit system but not Apple Pay. I recently switched to iOS and the lack of phone transit support is the biggest pain so far (and I don't really even use public transport, living and working in the CBD/city/downtown, just walk through one of the stations quite often on the way to and from the office).