A light rail train in Shoreline last year. Photo: M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Seattle-area transit agencies are getting on board with letting people tap their smartphones or credit cards to pay fares.
A test run began yesterday allowing riders on King County Metro's RapidRide G line to use the "tap to pay" feature.
The change is expected to expand throughout the ORCA transit network — which includes about a half dozen local transit agencies — by the end of February, GeekWire reports.
Under the new system, people will be able to tap a Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express card to pay their bus or train fare.
They could also use mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
It won't work on ferries, though.
Transit officials are rolling out the system ahead of this summer's FIFA World Cup games in Seattle, which are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists.
Melissa's thought bubble: It's a bit annoying that it took an international event to make this happen, but I'm glad I'll have an easy option for when I leave my ORCA card in my other jacket.
