The following first appeared at Metro’s The Source newsblog.
Our TAP-to-Exit pilot program is expanding to the E Line’s Downtown Santa Monica Station on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
The TAP-to-Exit program is where riders must tap their fare cards when exiting at stations. The goal is to increase fare compliance and to ensure that our system is used for legitimate travel needs by our customers.
Three things for riders to know:
- If you tapped your card and fare was deducted when you started your trip, tapping out will confirm fare was paid and open the fare gates.
- If you did not tap your card when you started your trip, your fare will be deducted when you tap out at the turnstiles.
- There will be a 7-day grace period before citations are issued to riders who do not have a valid fare.
We will have plenty of staff on site at Downtown Santa Monica to help riders purchase the correct fare and to answer any questions. There will also be staff from our Low Income Fare Is Easy (LIFE) program to help riders sign up for our reduced fare program that provides unlimited free rides for the first 90 days and then 20 free rides each month to qualified riders.
We launched TAP-to-Exit at the B Line’s North Hollywood Station in May. In the time since, we’ve seen a notable increase in the number of customers paying fare, as well as a drop in crime and other issues reported by riders via Metro’s Transit Watch app.
We surveyed customers at NoHo Station since we launched the pilot and found 91% reported feeling the station was cleaner and 86% thought it was safer.
The expansion of TAP-to-Exit is part of several public safety initiatives approved by the Metro Board of Directors at their July meeting.
