WMATA customers can now ‘Tap. Ride. Go.’ with contactless credit, debit cards at Metrorail station faregates

Customers using the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) rail system can now pay their fares using the Tap. Ride. Go. system by tapping a contactless credit or debit card or mobile wallets/smartwatch virtual cards.  

Physical and mobile SmarTrip cards will continue to be an option to pay for fares and parking. WMATA notes the Tap. Ride. Go. will be available for use on Metrobuses and at WMATA parking facilities in the future.  

WMATA says the new way to pay will help tourists and occasional customers who want to avoid fare machines and SmarTrip cards. Customers can instead tap in at a faregate with a contactless card and tap out with the same card to pay for their fares. 

“Our board of directors is proud to celebrate [WMATA’s] latest transformative initiative,” said WMATA Board Chair Valerie Santos. “The launch of Tap. Ride. Go. fits into our strategic vision of enhancing service efficiency and accessibility...This innovation is designed to modernize the customer journey and elevate [WMATA]  to world-class standards for seamless transportation.” 

WMATA adds it has been working on the Tap. Ride. Go. program since late last year. 

“The launch of Tap. Ride. Go. directly aligns with our priorities of continuous customer improvements,” said WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke. “Contactless payment is a world-class standard, and we are pleased to modernize our payment system, creating more accessibility and removing a friction point for those who may not be familiar with America’s Metro System. Instead of visiting a fare machine or buying a SmarTrip card, all customers have to do is tap, ride and go.” 

How Tap. Ride. Go. works 

Customers must use the same card to tap in and tap out of the system, and each customer needs their own card. The same card cannot be used for multiple people on the same trip. Individual cards need to be used. If a mobile or physical wallet has multiple cards, more than just one card may be charged.  

Customers can visit the customer dashboard and enter a debit or credit card number to view Tap. Ride. Go. Transactions. If customers want to utilize fare discounts or SmartBenefits, they will have to use their designated SmarTrip cards.  

WMATA notes that free transfers from rail to bus will not be available until Tap. Ride. Go. launches on Metrobus fareboxes in the future. 

WMATA’s partners in launching Tap. Ride. Go. 

WMATA worked with several partners to launch Tap. Ride. Go. Littlepay provided the software overlay, Cubic Transportation provided the tap target readers and STraffic supplied the faregates. The agency also partnered with Mastercard and FutureCard to help launch and promote the new payment option.