There’s a new way to pay for your Metrorail ride — and you’re staring at it right now
Who says you can’t do everything with your phone? Now, you can even pay for a Metrorail ride.
Starting Wednesday, riders with smartphones can pay the fare at all 23 stations digitally with “contactless payment.”
Riders can use contactless-enabled Visa or Mastercard bankcards, American Express cards or digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Fitbit Pay, according to Karla Damián, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works.
“We are simplifying the payment process with the launch of contactless payment at our Metrorail faregates ... and hope this will help attract even more people to ride transit, thus reducing congestion on our local streets,” Damián said.
Frequent riders will also be able to take advantage of the contactless payments’ “fare-capping feature.”
The first two single rides will each cost $2.25, the same amount as a standard ticket on a physical card. A third tap will then turn the digital pass into the equivalent of a $5.65 day pass. All other taps that day will be covered by the digital day pass.
However, discounted fares like the monthly pass option or college discount are not available through the digital payment.
Contactless payment and its fare-capping feature will eventually be extended to Metrobus routes later this summer, she said.
The future is tap and pay
Miami-Dade Metrorail moves up to three million people every week and officials are hoping this new tap-and-pay system will make traveling by transit quicker and easier.
“My administration has been clearly focused on incorporating innovative technologies to make public transportation both hassle-free and appealing,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez in a news release. “The launch of contactless payment for our transit riders marks a great step forward for Miami-Dade County.”
The tech upgrade is part of Miami-Dade Transit’s contactless payments rollout and is part of the county’s 2016 initiative to modernize its fare collection system.
Note: This piece was updated to reflect information and responses Miami-Dade County provided.
This story was originally published August 21, 2019 at 7:08 AM.
