Jersey City Mayor Jerrimiah Healy seen here utilizing the new “Tap and Go” program                                    photo: by steveamack.com

Customers on the Port Authority’s PATH rail system now can simply “Tap and Go” with their credit cards, under a regional six-month program that began on Tuesday June 1st.

Eleven of PATH’s 13 stations (except the Christopher and 9th street stations) have been equipped with special payment readers, allowing riders to tap a contacltess credit card or other device like a key fob to pay fares.

 

The Port Authority is partnering with NJ Transit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), along with MasterCard Worldwide, to help test seamless travel using one card on the three agencies’ trains and buses in New York and New Jersey. PATH riders can switch to three NJ Transit bus lines (6, 80,87) and the Lexington Avenue subway lines (4, 5, 6), as well as eight MTA bus routes (M14, M23, M79,M86, M 101, M102, M103, and BXM7 via MasterCard’s  PayPass Card.

Goals include improving convenience and speed for transit riders and helping to ultimately determine whether such as system is feasible through each agency’s transit system. Participating customers will not have to use cash for fare cards from multiple agencies and will not have to wait in line at ticket machines.

“MasterCard PayPass will have an exclusive two-month window to test the system, which then also will be opened to other contactless bank card customers for the pilot’s final four months.

PATH is a natural fit for testing innovations such as MasterCard PayPass that can help customers travel seamlessly between mass-transit systems in New York and New Jersey,” said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia. This Program aligns with our interest in simplifying fare payment, increasing capacity and ultimately attracting more customers to the region’s mass-transit systems.”

“Customer convenience is a top Port Authority priority and this pilot program will give out PATH customers more flexibility,” said Chris Ward, the Port Authority executive director. “We look forward to successful pilot that can help make this payment method permanent.”

“PATH riders deserve the latest service innovations,” said Bill Baroni, the Port Authority’s deputy executive director.” This pilot program will help ease our riders’ travels not only on PATH, but also when connection to other transit systems.”

Contactless cards already have proven popular on PATH, which offers its own, state -of -the -art SmartLink Card featuring an embedded computer chip that tracks the number of PATH trips available or travel days remaining for a customer. Sales of SmartLink Cards for travel on PATH has hit a record, jumping to more that 50-percent of market share on the rail line.

Under the pilot program with MasterCard, customers may select from pre -funding or pay-as-you-go options.

Last year alone, PATH handled nearly 73 million customers. The rail system, which the Port Authority acquir3ed in 1962, is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar modernization that  will result in an entirely new 340-car fleet of rail cars, a computerized signal system and upgraded station.