World Games commemorative TAP card and where to get one

Special Olympics World Games limited edition TAP cards.

Special Olympics World Games limited edition TAP cards.

Aspecial olympics maps you know, Metro is the Official Transit Provider™ for the L.A. World Games. But Metro is doing more than just taking you to the ceremonies and events, we’ve also got commemorative World Games TAP cards to celebrate this year’s biggest sporting event in the world!

Starting next week, you’ll be able to purchase the limited edition TAP cards at the TAP Vending Machines located at the stations listed here.

The limited edition TAP cards will be available at all of the locations listed by July 20. Because there will also be other special edition commemorative TAP cards out there (more on this next week), make sure to look for the signs showing what card is being sold from your TAP Vending Machine.

Please note that there is a one-time $1 fee for new TAP cards. And once you get your new card, load it with fare or a Day Pass to go Metro to the Games!

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7 replies

  1. LA needs to learn something or two about decent customer service at their train stations. In other cities, they figured this out long ago by adding staffed booths to the stations, right next to the gates so people can ask questions if they’re lost, ask for maps, or get reduced fare passes right there without jumping through bureaucracy:

    http://i.imgur.com/e87TQbx.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/McqUUxI.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/bVR7fra.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/4lDwjiz.jpg

  2. How to get a Senior TAP card:
    http://www.metro.net/riding/fares/senior/

    1. Go to a Metro Customer Service Center or,
    2. Download the pdf and mail in the application with necessary documents
    3. Wait for the TAP card to be sent out (could be weeks or months out due to the backlog)

    No online application option, no tracking number, no status updates, just a phone number to call if you have any questions. Phone representative only available Mondays to Fridays 8-4. Expect long wait times just to talk to someone.

    And this is the year 2015.

  3. I’ve been through this before.

    You can’t apply for senior citizen card until you reach your 62nd birthday and they require you to send in a copy like a drivers license or some form of ID that you reached your 62nd birthday by the time you sent in the application.

    And they’re really specific about the photo that needs to be attached that it has to be on photo paper and you must send it in by mail.

    Then i takes them approximately 6-8 WEEKS for them to mail out your card because of backlog.

    If your mother reached 62nd birthday in May, it won’t be until early July before she hears anything from Metro. And that’s if they don’t reject it because she didn’t use the right photo paper because they’re really picky about that. You can’t simply take a photo of yourself with a digital camera and print it on paper, they want you to use photo paper.

    Metro is able to scam 6-8 weeks of additional money from eligible senior citizens paying full fare because they don’t have a senior citizen TAP card because Metro’s turnaround from getting in an application and sending it out is over two months, despite they’re already eligible for reduced fares.

    Metro’s bureaucracy is a mess. Why can’t they just work with the DMV or the Social Security Administration or something so that upon a person living in LA County reaches their 62nd birthday, it’s automatically sent out to all senior citizens in LA County?

    Whatever they do, they need a faster turnaround than scamming senior citizens 6-8 weeks of full fares because of Metro’s own incompetence.

  4. Nothing new. Metro has had problems issuing reduced fare passes for students too so it seems the problem is spreading to senior citizens now too. One has to send in all the paperwork that the student is enrolled and in good standing, but by the time it gets sent out, it’s already middle of the school year.

    And the problem will get worse as more and more of the Baby Boomer generation goes into retirement. I bet they’re outsourcing this to India or Pakistan and there’s probably months in backlog because of more people going into retirement every day because after all, Baby Boomers are the largest population ever next to the Millennials.

    Bureaucracy like this only shows how most people don’t even bother with getting reduced fare passes. What’s the point of applying when Metro can’t even send them out in a reasonable time?

  5. How long does it take to get a Senior TAP card? My mother turned 62 two months ago, sent in her application for a senior citizen TAP card on her birthday and mailed it in and still hasn’t received her card yet and it’s already mid July! So even if she’s eligible for a reduced fare, she’s still paying full price because Metro hasn’t sent her a senior citizen card yet.