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Metro’s Tap Cards to Replace Paper Day Passes Beginning March 15 Starting Sunday, March 15, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) reusable TAP fare cards will replace some paper day passes for daily transit use on the Metro system. Metro Bus riders who normally purchase their day pass from a bus operator will insert their money into the farebox and touch their new TAP card on the TAP validator of the farebox to load the day pass onto their card. TAP cards can also be reloaded at Metro vendor outlets starting March 15. Metro will provide a complimentary TAP card to transit customers if they do not already have one when they buy a $5 day pass on board a Metro Bus until April 11 or while supplies last. Transit patrons are encouraged to keep and reuse their cards because they can be reloaded with additional fare value. Blank TAP cards will cost $2 thereafter. Metro Rail riders who already have a TAP card will be able to load a day pass onto their card at the station’s ticket vending machines. In the near future, these ticket vending machines will also be converted to dispense blank plastic reloadable TAP cards for a fee to enable riders to both purchase a card and load the day pass value -- or any other Metro fare product -- onto it directly from the machine. As a customer service until the end of the year, ticket vending machines will continue to dispense current paper day passes good for use on both buses and trains for riders who choose to pay by cash and who do not own a TAP card. At the end of this year, Metro also plans to expand its TAP offerings through the introduction of limited-use, low-cost and disposable paper “smart cards” that will replace current paper tickets. These new paper tickets can be used to purchase one-way fares as well as day passes and municipal transit provider transfers. “This new program combines the ease of our day pass with the convenience of our new TAP card,” said Roger Snoble, Metro CEO. Riders also can pre-load a day pass on their TAP cards at any Metro pass sales outlets before they board. Cards will be activated the first time they are used and will be valid for that entire day. Eight day passes can be pre-loaded onto a single TAP card for use any time. The pre-loaded passes do not have to be used consecutively. Only one person may use a single TAP card, and only one day pass can be activated at a time. TAP, or Transit Access Pass, is the revolutionary new electronic fare payment system that will eventually unify all of Los Angeles County’s transit operators through a single, reusable payment card. For a current list of Metro pass sales outlets and more information, visit metro.net. Metro-024 Editors Note: “Metro” should be used when referring to this agency. Copyright © 2008, LACMTA | Privacy Policy |