Tap to walk. Image by Jung Gatoona, Plus Metro.

I’ve come to trust local transit blog Plus Metro for posts that offer wildly creative solutions to everyday problems riders face on Metro – and the blog’s most recent entry is no exception. As we here at The Source comb through the over three dozen emails we received as a result of our call for TAP questions last week, Plus Metro has come up with four suggestions on how to rethink the physical act of tapping a TAP card.

Why? Because, as the blog notes, sometimes pulling a TAP card out from a wallet stuffed in a pocket or purse is simply not convenient – especially if you’re carrying a load of groceries as any good transit oriented citizen must do from time to time.

Here are Plus Metro’s ideas, and make sure to read the full post for more insight

• Foot TAP – just walk right over the sensor.
• Bracelet TAP – can fares also be fashion?
• Wireless TAP – why bother tapping at all?
• Cellphone/Keychain TAP – Asian transit systems can do it, why can’t we?

Some of these ideas aren’t really so far fetched. Hong Kong’s Octopus Card has been around since 1997 (actually it was the first contactless card smart card system in the world) and beyond the standard cards – which by the way, come in a wide variety of colors and graphical designs – Octopus offers key chains, watches and even tiny plush dolls that can all be used as valid fare media.