No more digging around for exact change. No need to buy a pass in advance. No need to pre-register to buy a Tcard smartcard or download the Tfare mobile app.
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. (TCAT) today is pleased to announce that it has officially activated new customer-friendly features on its fareboxes that now enable riders to simply tap a contactless credit or debit card or a digital wallet to pay their fare.
TCAT and its farebox manufacturer, Genfare LLC, recently rolled out an open payment system whose aim is to remove barriers, especially for tourists or others who aren’t familiar with TCAT’s fare structure or who don’t have time to buy a pass in advance. The new feature also reduces the time riders spend at the farebox, which speeds up the boarding process, helping drivers stay on schedule.
Riders can simply tap their bank card or digital wallet on the smart card reader located on top of the farebox. Half-fare riders MUST alert the driver BEFORE tapping their bank cards or digital wallet to be charged half fare or what is $0.75 per ride. If not, they will be charged full fare.
TCAT’s fare capping still in its early stages
As part of the upgrade, TCAT is now offering fare capping to ensure no one pays more $3 a day to ride the bus no matter how many trips they take. For now, the cap is restricted to just one service day with the $3 cap (the price of two $1.50 single adult fares) and only for rechargeable smart cards and the Tfare app. To be sure, a rider can enjoy the same advantage by simply loading a $3 unlimited day pass onto their fare media. Nonetheless, the daily cap might provide some relief, say for a tourist who doesn’t know the fare structure or someone who starts out the day expecting they will only need a single ride, but ends up needing more.
Fare capping does not apply to the disposable smart cards nor cash fare but will eventually apply to credit and debit cards and digital wallets. (Half-fare riders using open payment WILL NOT be capped at the half-fare rate, which would normally be $1.50 for two single ride. Nonetheless, they too could enjoy savings if they took more than four rides in one day.)
The recent launch of open payment and fare capping marks the next step in the long-awaited farebox upgrade that started nearly three years ago when TCAT selected Genfare in an open bid process to replace its ailing 14-year-old fare collection system. The project suffered setbacks but by fall of 2024, riders were able to buy and use smartcard and mobile apps to pay their fares with a technology that also laid the framework for future open payment and fare capping.
“We are proud that we can finally take this next step by implementing a more rider-friendly, tap-and-go technology that our customers want and deserve,” said TCAT General Manager Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones. “Open payment and fare capping have been around for well over a decade with larger transit systems obviously being the first adopters. In recent years, farebox manufacturers have been expanding into smaller markets enabling more agencies like ours to offer the technology as funding becomes available.”
Rosenbloom-Jones stated: “It is essential for us to use our resources for new buses and for our other immediate needs, but it is also important to simplify the farebox, which can be the most challenging part of riding a bus, especially for newcomers.”
TCAT hopes to eventually expand fare capping to a month, allowing riders to pay per ride and still enjoy the benefits of a $45 unlimited monthly pass. After a rider logs 30 single trips on their card or app, their pass automatically offers unlimited rides at no charge for the remainder of the month. This will be beneficial to a frequent rider who can’t afford $45 upfront.
“The transit industry has long recognized that it’s only fair that someone on a tight budget or living paycheck-to-paycheck enjoys the same discount for unlimited rides as someone who has more discretionary income,” Rosenbloom-Jones said. “We are pleased that we can finally start offering a more equitable approach to fare collection.”
For FAQs, please see TCAT’s fare page.