Public transportation riders began using UTA’s new Farepay cards to pay for Trax, FrontRunner and bus rides this week.
Riders with UTA passes subsidized by their school or employer may have already been tapping on and off the TRAX and FrontRunner trains. UTA’s new Farepay cards let paying riders do the same thing. They can load the cards with any amount of money between five and five hundred dollars, and the price of the fare is subtracted every time they tap on and off.
UTA Spokesperson Remi Barron says Farepay users don’t have to wait in line at ticket vending machines or have cash in their pockets.
“Essentially, it’s the same thing as paying except that it’s much more convenient,” says Barron.
Farepay cards have a one-time activation fee of three dollars, but for the next five months, riders who use a Farepay card to travel get a twenty percent discount.
Trax and bus rides normally cost two fifty, but only two dollars will be subtracted from the Farepay card until March. The discounted FrontRunner rides cost two dollars, with fifty cents added for each stop. Riders who forget to tap off will be charged the price of a full FrontRunner trip.
Barron says the Farepay cards will provide UTA with ridership data.
“It’s also going to let us plan for the future. So we can track where people go, how far they ride, which routes seem to be more popular,” says Barron.
Which might help determine new routes or route changes in the future.
