Gone are the days – well, almost – of having to rustle around and find a subway token, or even of making sure you have your TAP card ride pass. That’s because soon, everyone will be able to easily pay their Metro fare using a smart phone.

Recently, the Los Angeles transit agency started to set the ball in motion for the creation of software that will put the transportation era in Southern California into the modern age. As it now stands, the plan is for the development of a cloud based connection system known as Nextlink, which will essentially link up the current TAP fare infrastructure to a convenient mobile payment app.

This being the case, it may not be too long before TAP cards are no longer in existence at all, as riders will be able to easily use a TAP card that is “virtual” for paying fares directly from their mobile devices.

Just as with any of the other countless venues that now allow payment via phone, it was only a matter of time before the L.A. rapid transit system went digital. The estimated time frame for this switchover is roughly 7 to 9 months after the start of the app’s development.

https://la.curbed.com/2017/5/26/15701664/metro-tap-card-phone-pay-fare