Apple Wallet to Roll out Transit Ticket Support Starting This Spring

Apple and Cubic have partnered to allow transit system tickets within Apple Wallet. Passengers will soon be able to use their iPhones and Apple Watches to board public transit systems without a physical card.

The service is launching for the Ventra card in Chicago later this year. Cubic and Apple are also working together to support open-loop transit cards, such as the ones used for the OMNY system in New York. That technology should be available in the spring.

Passengers can currently use Apple Pay to cover transit costs on the TriMet in Portland and the Ventra System in Chicago. These transit providers accept contactless payments, so riders can pay individual ride fares using Apple Pay.

However, using a digital transit card would allow passengers to save money with a daily or monthly pass, rather than paying for each ride individually. This is the type of support that will be launching in the next few months.

Google was the first mobile wallet provider to support transit tickets, starting with the Las Vegas Monorail in March 2018. At that time, Google said this service would be “coming to more cities soon,” but the company has not yet announced other partnerships.