A new pilot program will allow CT Transit and CT Fastrak customers to buy bus passes on their smartphones starting in April.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is launching the program in partnership with Token Transit. It will allow customers to buy two-hour adult, senior/disabled and youth bus passes for all local CT Transit and CT Fastrak buses from their smartphones.
To buy the passes, customers can download the Token Transit mobile app, the Transit App, Moovit, Agile Mile or Google Maps. All of those apps are integrated with Token Transit.
Starting April 1, customers will be able to use the passes on the buses. Here's how the passes will work.
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As a bus approaches, customers who purchased passes through Token Transit will be able to open their app and tap on the pass to activate it.
Once the pass is activated, the two-hour time period for the ticket begins.
When the customer is on the bus, they should follow the instructions in the app to validate the ticket and show the bus driver.
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"We’ve heard from the public that they want easier and more accessible payment methods. The partnership with Token Transit allows customers to pay via apps they already use on their devices. Riders will no longer have to worry about finding exact change to ride the bus or losing a paper ticket,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said in part in a statement.
CT DOT says all CT Fastrak and CT Transit local buses will accept Token Transit including the Hartford, New Haven and Stamford divisions.
The CT Transit buses in Bristol, Meriden, New Britain, Wallingford and Waterbury will also accept Token Transit.
CT Transit Express buses are not included in the pilot program. Anyone who uses Token Transit on a CT Transit local bus and transfers to a CT Transit Express bus will need to pay the difference in fares with cash on the express bus.
More details on the pilot program can be found here.
According to Governor Ned Lamont, the program is being funded by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
