Attentive readers know that earlier this year Metro began selling TAP cards and stored value on those cards at ticket vending machines at some Metro Rail stations.
Since there are more than one ticket machine at the stations, look for the ones with the green Metro placard on top with the drawing of a hand holding a TAP card. It’s the machine on the right in this photo.
Because we get frequent inquiries from readers about the location of those machines, please find an updated list of the 22 Metro Rail locations where the TAP cards are being sold after the jump. For more info on TAP cards, click here.
TAP & Ticket Vending Machines
Now you can buy a TAP card in 22 Ticket Vending Machines throughout Metro Rail.
New cards are $2.00 and must be loaded with a valid pass or cash value.
Locations:
Blue Line
* 7th St/MetroCenter (Blue)
* Compton
* Del Amo
* Florence
* Grand
* Imperial/Wilmington (Blue)
* Willow
Gold Line
* Sierra Madre Villa
* Union Station (Gold)
Green Line
* Norwalk
Red Line
* 7th St/MetroCenter (Red)
* Hollywood/Highland
* Hollywood/Vine
* North Hollywood(Red)
* Pershing Square
* Union Station (Red)
* Union Station (Red)
* UniversalCity
* Vermont/Sunset
* Westlake/MacArthur Park
* Wilshire/Western
Steve,
Why are fare machines (TVMs) at the same station “assigned” to a line anyways? Why should it matter if I buy a ticket from the TVM in the tunnel by tracks 1 and 2 (i.e. the Gold Line) at LAUS or from the TVM in the mezzanine of the Red/Purple Line? I should be able to buy a ticket at the first machine I pass in a station and that ticket should real “Union Station”! Period!
(As it is, the Normandie and Western station TVMs still hand out “Red Line” tickets, AFAIK.)
“that ticket should READ ‘Union Station’! Period!”
I still don’t understand why Metro cannot equip all of their machines to do this, aside from the fact that forcing people to have to buy weekly/monthly passes so will make Metro more money.
It’s otherwise confusing to tourists, new riders, and those that don’t happen to read The Source.
I’m often puzzled by some of the decisions Metro makes. If you’re going to put TAP-dispensing machines on the Green Line, why, why, WHY would you not put a TAP-dispensing machine at the Aviation/LAX station for the tourists? (Who unfortunately get a great first impression of our public transit system from the Green Line airport “connection”.)
I think they are slowly integrating them into all TVMs but its just taking a while. But yeah, whats the deal with having to load a week, month, or day pass. Does “stored value” now actually mean that Metro is allowing a user amount to be added to the card without the need for it to be a pass? Because I am really unclear about whether metro has any plans to even do that (which they really need to!!!) If someone could clarify that would be great. Being able to just TAP and have it deduct per ride would be a lot easier for sometimes-riders.
I’m not sure I understand what Erik G.’s complaint is.
Except for Willowbrook, 7th/ Metro, and Union Station, most stations are only served by one rail line.
At Union Station, it’s not like anybody is going to walk down to the mezzanine of the Red Line, buy a ticket and then walk back up to the Gold Line? Would they?
Or if you’re getting off the subway, what’s the big deal about waiting until you get to the Gold Line to buy the next ticket?
This is definitely progress, but your job isn’t done until you’re got this at every rail station and every major busway station.
If you’re selling something (transit rides) you need to do everything you can to make it easier for people to buy your product.
New York City still has you beat on the convenience of acquiring a fare card, and they give ‘em away for free.
Hey look, it’s my photo! Ha ha ha thanks! XD
Wilton makes a good point. Also, no machines on the entire Gold Line Eastside? ALL machines should be able to do this? And why can’t I add money online?
To: konartistex360
Yes, “stored value” means that you can put in cash ($10, $20, etc.) and when you TAP your card at a validator (bus or rail), the amount for a single ride is deducted. The problem is that the card still doesn’t know that when you reach the “day pass” limit, it should stop deducting money for that day. Moreover, while you can load both day passes and “stored value” onto the same card, when you TAP a validator, it’s going to use the day pass first. This means that the benefit of being able to load multiple day passes onto your TAP card is negated because if you just want to take one or two rides in a day, for example, you’re going to be charged for a day pass. The first problem is a simple programming change and I’m surprised that Metro didn’t implement it from the beginning (well, not really — it is Metro, after all). On a happier note, I was pleased to see that for Senior TAP cards, the deduction does seem to follow the non-peak fare rules.