Contactless Credit/Debit Cards

Beginning January 1, 2009, UTA will accept all major contactless credit and debit cards on UTA buses, TRAX and FrontRunner. Just tap your contactless card to a electronic fare reader on a bus or train platform to pay the single adult cash fare.

Credit/debit cards accepted include American Express expresspay, Discover Network Zip, MasterCard PayPass, and Visa payWave. UTA joins many other major businesses such as 7-11, Best Buy, McDonalds, Office Depot in the Utah market in accepting this new form of payment. Look for a logo similar to the one below to determine where your contactless credit/debit card may be used.

Tap on. Tap off. Be sure to tap on when boarding and tap off when exiting to complete your trip. It is important to remember to tap off with the same card when exiting in order to close out the trip, as failure to tap off would leave the trip incomplete. This is especially important for FrontRunner, which charges you based on the distance you travel. If you fail to tap off on FrontRunner, you will be charged the maximum fare, instead for only the distance that you have traveled.

Transfers: If you are paying with a contactless credit or debit card, there is no need to ask for a transfer, the system will automatically recognize you when you switch from one service to another. You will only be charged for one trip if it is within the two hour transfer window. Tapping on and off each time you board and exit tells the EFC system where you began and ended your trip and you will be charged only for the most expensive service used. See the FAQ for an example.

Free Fare Zone. A credit card tapped on and tapped off in the downtown Salt Lake City free fare zone will not be charged. However, if you tap on within the free fare zone and fail to tap off when exiting within the free fare zone, you will be charged the full single adult cash fare.

How can I check my charges? UTA will provide a secure web interface accessible from this page that allows credit card users to view their trips and associated charges. UTA does not store any personal credit card information in our system. The readers are similar to contactless credit card readers used by any other business.

Coming soon. In the months ahead, UTA is planning to roll out many new electronic fare products including a monthly pass and reduced fare options for seniors and other qualifying individuals. Currently the only fare product that will work with electronic fare is the single adult cash fare.

For more information, see the Electronic Fare FAQ.