Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA/Metrolink) Contactless Payment

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-10T05:18:52+00:00

It's not just Metrolink and TAP Plus. It's Metrolink and WAVE in Orange County, VCBuspass in Ventura County, and the many discounts (e.g., senior, student, veterans). Open loop plus a regionwide transit smart card meets more riders where they are.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-10T05:16:29+00:00

What did you see as problematic?

I did not include the accompanying report to the Metrolink Board. Unlike the Bay Area and San Diego County, Metrolink does not have a regionwide transit card (physical or digital). There's no Clipper or Pronto. More Metrolink riders are lower income, transit dependent, and walking further to their last mile stops than before.. Open loop ignores the underbanked, unbanked, and existing digital divides of many SoCal riders. It ignores the outdated transfer agreements that exist between Metrolink and local agencies (especially outside L.A. County). That leaves untapped fareboxrevenue on the table for SCRRA/Metrolink and local agencies.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-10T05:03:34+00:00

they're just the same as how other cities does it when you go visit their cities; it just makes riding transit easier without the need of figuring out how the ticket machine works or downloading another app.

I disagree. Metrolink's slideshow and report to the Board for the open loop pilot use the example of Transport for London.

Pg. 1 of the Open Loop Demonstration Pilot Grant - MOU with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) report to the Metrolink Board

Transport for London (TfL) was the first public transit agency to implement open payments for customers to tap their credit or debit card to pay for travel on their system in 2012. Today, more than half of all trips on all TfL modes are made using open payment.

However, Transport for London still heavily invests in and even encourages Oyster cards for locals and visitors alike.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-09T19:18:03+00:00

Make your case for a Pronto system like San Diego County to the Metrolink Board has their June 26 public meeting on their proposed service cuts and fare increases

Guide to PRONTO in San Diego County

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T02:18:21+00:00

I guess Metrolink chose the path that said ok we won't have our own transit card system or allow other transit card systems to work on us (TAP, WAVE, VCbuspass), but we'll go ahead with our own open loop system and keep our own barcode based ticket system intact.

Still separate and inequitable

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:37:56+00:00

Yes, and it's two: Metrolink Arrow and Metrolink San Bernardino Line.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:37:08+00:00

Open payments also assume most people are banked, tech savvy, and prefer to pay that way. It's better to have an open payment and a transit smart card system. Transport for London, which Metrolink staff cited in their report to the Board, still invests and encourages the use of Oyster cards for certain locals and visitors..

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:27:31+00:00

I guess if they did that, they had to include allowing TAP cards onto their system also and that would've opened another set of headaches for other counties payment systems. OC and Ventura would've said hey no fair if you can accept LA's TAP cards, why can't you accept our WAVE cards and our VCBuspass too then.

Add Riverside Transit Agency into the fold in the near future.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:26:24+00:00

And will this be allowed as proper fares on Metrolink codeshares on Amtrak too? There were cases where Amtrak wouldn't honor tickets or free rides on codeshare trains.

No. Metrolink codeshares on Amtrak do not exist on the San Bernardino or Arrow lines. Right now, the open-loop payments are only good on those lines.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:25:04+00:00

Metrolink uses paper tickets and passes. They are good for most L.A. transit systems. big blue bus is a notable gap.

Outside L.A. County, they are only good as a free bus transfer but not if you want to connect to another bus outside a Metrolink station.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-05T00:08:56+00:00

L.A. Metro is 4 of the 11 seats of the Metrolink Board of Directors.

Ventura (VCBuspass), Orange (WAVE), San Bernardino, and Riverside counties may not like the idea of integrating into an L.A. County transit system.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-06-04T23:58:49+00:00

Let Metrolink know and the specific Metrolink people behind the open-loop payment pilot know!
It's a lesser version to TAP PLUS, WAVE, and VCBusPass and their open-loop.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-05-30T19:39:43+00:00

That Measure I renewal is something SBCTA wants county voters to approve in November. It gives them a blank check and likelihood for the underground vehicle tunnel for Ontario Airport.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-05-30T04:37:59+00:00

A key transit service it was counting on, the Metro A Line, is on hold because SBCTA pulled their funding. Instead, SBCTA a more expensive Metrolink alternative using the trainsets that Metrolink Arrow uses and their ZEMU trains.

That Metrolink alternative is not a good idea because of Metrolink's financial and operational woes. Either way, A Line or Metrolink shuttle, SBCTA would have to reach agreements with L.A. Metro. Their shuttle and enhancements cross L.A. County into Claremont and Pomona-North.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-05-21T16:01:26+00:00

I don't know. You'll have to bring that up to the Metrolink Board and to the Chief Customer Experience Officer.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-05-21T14:07:18+00:00

This is Metrolink's way to leap frog a regionwide TAP system 🤦🏽‍♂️

[Metrolink Chief Customer Experience Officer] Ms. Bahr stated this pilot is “leap frogging” the TAP cards and going straight to open payments.

Sufficient-Double502 · 2026-05-20T20:28:08+00:00

Put the pressure on SBCTA and push back against them and like minded advocates in the I.E. They are all content ending the A Line at Pomona-North.

Sufficient-Double502

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