The Metropolitan Transit System's (MTS) board of directors voted Thursday to allow passengers to pay bus and trolley fares by tapping a credit card or smartphone.
The upgrade comes after transit riders complained about the cumbersome process of downloading and setting up the Pronto app, which the transit agency rolled out two years ago.
MTS rider Connor Proctor set up the app last year and was frustrated by how long it took. He said he had to enter his name and address twice — once for the app and a second time along with his credit card information.
"It took me 191 taps to sign up for the Pronto app," Proctor said. "I almost gave up halfway through. It was that painful."
Proctor's experience led him to co-found RideSD, a nonprofit that advocates for better public transit. RideSD's first campaign was to call on MTS to allow open, contactless payment with credit cards, debit cards and virtual wallets like Apple Pay.
Manny Rodriguez, another co-founder of RideSD, told MTS board members he frequently observes new transit riders or tourists struggling with the Pronto app.
"The trolley is already here, they're still setting up the app, they just hop on and they don't pay," Rodriguez said. "Having open payments will no doubt increase farebox recovery because people will just be able to tap their credit card."
MTS staff said open payments have already been embraced by the rest of the world, but that the United States has been lagging behind.
Adding open payments to the Pronto system will cost MTS $1.2 million and is expected to be completed by the end of March. Board members of the North County Transit District are scheduled to vote on joining the upgrade next month.
Meanwhile, MTS staff say they are continuing to work on upgrades to the Pronto app, including eliminating the QR codes that passengers have to scan to pay their fares. Passengers have complained the scanning often doesn't work, which can lead to delays as people queue to pay their fare.
By late 2024 or early 2025, staff said, the Pronto app will use the same kind of "near field communication" (NFC) technology that enables Apple Pay and Google Pay.
