EZ passes moving to a new home on TAP

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Here’s a new Metro release on the move of EZ passes from paper onto TAP. The migration begins Sept. 1 but senior/disabled patrons have until Nov. 1 to apply for and receive their new ID cards. Application forms can be downloaded from the web but also are available at Metro Customer Centers and pass outlets all over the region.

The EZ transit pass — the monthly pass good for travel on 25 different public transit carriers throughout Los Angeles County — will begin the transition from paper to TAP cards Sept. 1, making it easier for customers to travel without transfers, renew their passes each month and replace their cards, should they be lost of stolen. The EZ transit pass is one of the last paper passes to transition to smart card technology.

The EZ transit pass will be electronically loaded onto the familiar blue TAP card for regular riders or the orange Reduced TAP ID card for senior and/or disabled riders.  A stamp with the month, year and zone designation will be affixed to the front of each card so that the card can be visually inspected on non-TAP systems.

To help customers with the transition, the new reusable TAP cards will be free for a limited time with the purchase of an EZ transit pass.

The move from EZ transit pass paper passes to TAP will continue until Nov. 1 for senior and disabled patrons to give them extra time to apply for and receive their new reduced-fare TAP ID cards. Applications can be downloaded from the web at metro.net/riding/fares/senior.  They also are available at all Metro Customer Centers and pass sales outlets.

The new EZ transit passes on TAP will make it easier to renew the passes each month. When an EZ transit pass expires, another pass can be loaded onto the card at a pass sales outlet, or at the official TAP website: taptogo.net. There will be no need to purchase a new TAP card each month because the card can be used again and again for up to three years.  Customers can protect their cards and their pass or stored value balance from loss by requesting balance protection by calling 1.866.TAPTOGO (1.866.827.8646).  The card and balance can be replaced for just $5.

EZ transit pass fares are $84 per month, or $35 for senior/disabled patrons. Although there is no extra charge for transfers between participating carriers, in some cases there are zone charges, which will be addressed as they are now, either by paying for a monthly pass with zones, or by paying the zone fare when boarding, either in cash or with stored value loaded onto the TAP card. (Bus operators will notify patrons, should zone charges pertain.)

EZ transit passes are sold at Metro Customer Centers and nearly 600 participating vendors  region-wide, including Nix Check Cashing, Continental Currency Services and selected Ralph’s markets. Search EZ transit pass outlets on taptogo.net to find a convenient location near you.

 

UPDATE: Here are the answers to three questions readers have been asking –

1. The EZ Pass sticker needed for your TAP card will be mailed to those who buy the pass online.

2. Because the EZ Pass needs a sticker, they are not available at Metro ticket machines.

3. The EZ Pass can be loaded onto an existing TAP card. You don’t need to buy a new card to get the pass.

39 thoughts on “EZ passes moving to a new home on TAP”

  1. Can you have two different “accounts” on one TAP card? For example, could I have a Foothill Transit Pass AND have some cash purse so I can use MTA as needed?

    When I TAP, by default, which one will it take should I have more than two “accounts” on one card? And if I am riding MTA Rail, how will they know I “tapped” correctly? How will I know if I tapped using my cash purse, and not my regular Foothill Transit Pass?

  2. M. Smith:

    In my experience (and this is only on Metro busses/trains, but I assume it will work the same for Foothill and others), the system will automatially look for a valid pass first. So starting at the top, if you have an EZ Pass, a month, week, or day pass for the respective agency, it will go to those first. If no valid pass is found, it will then deduct from the cash purse as a “last resort” option.

  3. UPDATE: Here are the answers to three questions readers have been asking –

    1. The EZ Pass sticker needed for your TAP card will be mailed to those who buy the pass online.

    2. Because the EZ Pass needs a sticker, they are not available at Metro ticket machines.

    3. The EZ Pass can be loaded onto an existing TAP card. You don’t need to buy a new card to get the pass.

    Steve Hymon
    Editor, The Source

  4. “1. The EZ Pass sticker needed for your TAP card will be mailed to those who buy the pass online.”

    So Metro wastes money on mailing these things out (price of forever stamp x number of EZ Pass holders each month = all paid for with your tax dollars), with no idea how long it’s going to take for the mail to arrive in this day and age, keeping people anxious because this stupid sticker may not arrive until the 3rd or 4th day of the new month, without regards that stamps costs continue to rise because like any other inefficient government agency the post office has no clue how to run a business, in this day and age eleven years into the 21st century.

    BRILLIANT.

    And do you know any other transit agency in the world that does this? No one. Gee I wonder why.

    And you guys expect LA to win out the Olympics bid with other cities? Ha!

  5. I’m keeping my fingers crossed concerning paying the zone fare with the tap. Do you know if it is done automatically when you first TAP? As it is now on the Silver Line, you need to pay 95 cents and it is very rare that only 95 cents gets taken off your stored value. Even though the drivers press the no. 5 button it rarely works the full fare $2.45 is routinely extracted from my TAP. There is a process to get your 1.50 refunded on the mta site but it usually takes a week to get your money back. Some of the drivers on MTA will bluff you to TAP or bully you to hurry up (It’s not our fault they don’t learn what to do)

    But, overall I’m really jazzed this is finally happening. It’s going to save so much if I lose the pass like 3 times already!

  6. soooooo…..as long as I ride on a bus that accepts TAP (I’m looking at you Culver City) I can load my TAP at a vending kiosk and be able to ride to my little hearts content without the sticker?

  7. EZ pass is not going to be available from the Metro ticket vending machines anyway because it comes with a monthly sticker for the non-tap systems. Only the Metro Passes (1 day, 7 days, and 30 days) and the stored value are available from the Metro ticket vending machines. So if you want to load an EZ pass onto TAP, the only way is that you need to do it online or in person at the sale outlets.

  8. Why can’t all the transit agencies just get together and standardize the fares? I think that’ll be so much easier than trying to deal with all these confusions that do not benefit the transit rider.

  9. Charles K., the story of the various transit agencies in this county and their relationship is complex and often is more about turf than the needs of users. I know Metro CEO Art Leahy appreciates just what you are asking about but given certain realities standardization isn’t in the cards anytime soon.

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