BART Launches Open Payment System to Improve Rider Experience

Photo Courtesy of San Francisco Mayor’s Office

On Tuesday (Aug. 19) BART celebrated the launch of Tap and Ride, an “open payments” system which allows riders to simply tap a credit card or mobile wallet at BART fare gates. This payment system, which officially became operational today (Aug. 20), could dramatically improve the experience for infrequent riders or visitors, as it makes fare payment even more straightforward.

The Bay Area Council has been advocating for customer-focused improvements like this that can help draw more riders to the system, and Council members San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, and SFO spoke at a news conference with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to highlight how transformative this change could be for fans traveling to games and visitors flying through the airport. This modernization brings the BART system on par with New York, D.C. and London where open payments have been operating.

The launch of Tap and Ride comes a week after BART and other regional transit systems unveiled the Big Sync, a regional effort the Council played a key role in developing to better integrate our regional bus, rail and other transit systems to make them more reliable, convenient and efficient for the thousands of commuters who use them. And it comes ahead of the expected completion in September of the installation of new, secure fare gates that the Council had advocated for to make the system safer. To engage in the Council’s transportation policy work, please contact Senior Vice President Emily Loper.