For the first time, Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit riders can use contactless payment to pay their fare. Previously, passengers paid using either their Cornell ID, cash, the Tcard or FreeRyde Smart card or TCAT’s mobile ticketing app, Tfare.
This new addition to TCAT’s fareboxes is part of a testing phase for an “open payment system” according to Patty Poist, TCAT communications and marketing manager. This will enable riders to use credit cards and mobile payment options, such as Apple Pay, when taking the bus.
“We will be announcing the official launch date in early October,” Poist said. “It will be a great new feature for those who don’t have cash, a fare card or mobile app readily available.”
At Cornell, freshmen students receive free year-round TCAT passes, while all other students with registered University IDs receive unlimited free rides on buses after 6 p.m. during weekdays or anytime during the weekend. Bought independently, Cornell students can buy a discounted OmniRide pass for $200 annually rather than the typically offered price of $450 per year. A single ride for an adult, however, is $1.50, and could previously be only paid by a TCAT-given payment option or cash.
Without Apple Pay on the bus system, traveling on campus would be difficult, Strummer Dunn ’29 said, a frequent TCAT rider. Despite misplacing their wallet, Dunn was able to ride the TCAT multiple times on the same day due to the new payment option.
“[Having Apple Pay as an option is] making [ TCAT] a lot more accessible, and helping people who might be stranded without a wallet,” Dunn said. “The world is turning to tap-to-pay.”
TCAT general manager, Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones, said the corporation is actively working with Genfare, their farebox vendor, to offer contactless payment to all of their bus services. More details about the project will be released as it is gradually introduced, but to him, this addition is a useful addition for residents using the bus system.
“This will reduce barriers to using transit by offering additional options for riders to pay their fares without cash or using a mobile app,” Rosenbloom-Jones said. “More details will be released as the project progresses.”
Shubha Gautam is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at sgautam@cornellsun.com.
