By Tom Phillips[1] • • nfcw.com[2]
Passengers on Chicago Transit Authority[3] (CTA) bus and train services can now use their iPhone or Apple Watch to make tap-and-go fare payments via Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode by uploading the authority’s Ventra[4] transit card to their Apple Wallet.
Express Transit[5] enables passengers to pay without needing to unlock or wake their Apple device, open the CTA’s Ventra app or authenticate their payment with Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode.
“Simply tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to the Ventra reader and go when you see the green ‘Go’,” the CTA says.
“That’s it — no fumbling to open apps or wake your device. As long as your iPhone or Apple Watch is on and Express Transit Mode is enabled, it will do all the work for you.
“Express Transit Mode is automatically activated for the first Ventra Card you add in Apple Wallet. Additional Ventra Cards will not automatically be set up for Express Transit.”
Passengers “get the same features of a Ventra Card on your iPhone and Apple Watch, including the ability to load and manage transit value and CTA and Pace [suburban bus] passes, autoload, pre-tax transit benefits from your employer, [and] account management features in the Ventra app,” the CTA adds.
Users can purchase and upload a new Ventra card or transfer an existing one to Apple Wallet via the Ventra app.
The CTA relaunched its Ventra app in September with new features such as door-to-door trip planning, access to mobile tickets for Metra commuter
