CALIFORNIA—Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the mobile app for Metro Los Angeles’ TAP card is available on Apple devices on Thursday, September 3, at the Union Station in a Facebook Live video.
Riders that downloaded the app will be able to add their fare to their TAP cards through the app which becomes available for use immediately. The passengers will also be able to check arrival and departure times for buses and trains. The TAP card in their Apple Wallet will activate by holding the advice near the validator without needing to unlock the phone. There is a video by Mayor Garcetti to show the step-by-step procedure for further clarity.
“We have to eliminate barriers between our transportation system and our essential workers, front line heroes, hard-hit households and Angelenos from every neighborhood,” Garcetti stated from Union Station. “This is always important, but even more critical in this current crisis. The new mobile TAP app makes Metro one of the first transit agencies in the country to put the power to pay your fares in the palm of your hands.”
In addition to the updates, the app allows riders to redeem discounts and promotions along with displaying routes with a regional trip planner built within the app.
The updated app is compatible with iPhones 8 and later and Apple Watch Series 3 and later. The Android version has yet to be created but expected to launch later this year.
“This step is absolutely vital, not just for access, but making sure we’re all healthy and safe in a COVID environment and over the long haul,” Garcetti said. “This is about convenience, accessibility, and also about equity—making it easier for our essential workers, our front-line heroes to be able to get where they’re going.”
