A total of 133 new ticket machines have been installed at Metrolink stations across southern California.
The new machines improve the customer experience through improved reliability, a focus on accessibility and smarter, more customer-friendly features, such as touchscreens.
The machines comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, featuring voice enabled technology, a headphone jack and braille keypads.
“The introduction of our new ticket machines with accessibility features comes just as the nation commemorates the 30th anniversary of the signing of ADA on July 26, 1990,” said Metrolink Board Chair Brian Humphrey.
“Metrolink trains have always been accessible to all persons and I am pleased that our ticket machines make the buying experience available to everyone,” said Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins.
Metrolink’s new smart ticket machines offer service in English and Spanish and help save riders time by predicting possible destination stations. The touchscreen automatically brightens or dims, depending on outside conditions to improve visibility. Customers can pay for tickets using cash, credit and debit cards and promotional codes. Cash-paying customers will receive change in coins or, in some cases, vouchers. Metrolink customers will soon be able to pay for tickets using transit vouchers as well as touchless options through Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.
Metrolink installed the new state-of-the-art ticket machines at 62 stations throughout its 538-mile system in two years – under budget and ahead of schedule. The machines will help save Metrolink more than $2 million in operating and maintenance costs annually. The new ticket machines replace older models, some of which were 25-years old and prone to mechanical issues.
Tickets from the new machines have a different look and feel, including a Metrolink watermark and holographic foil strip to improve security. Riders may still purchase tickets and passes through the Metrolink Mobile App. Fares remain unchanged.
