New Card Now Offers Cashless Fare Payment for Nine Transit Operators
Sacramento, Calif. – Connect Card, a universal transit fare card, has launched on public transportation operators across the Sacramento region. On Thursday, elected officials, transit agencies, and other regional partners convened at Raley Field to announce and celebrate the launch of this new transit smart card that can be used to ride nine different transit agencies across the region.
"This fare card is an excellent example of how working together through regional collaboration results in improved services for our communities," said Brian Veerkamp, El Dorado County Supervisor and Board Chair from the Sacramento Area of Council of Governments (SACOG).
The Connect Card was first introduced to the Sacramento region in the fall of 2016 during a soft launch. Since then, more than 2,000 participants have provided feedback that has improved the system and rider experience. Now, instead of carrying exact change for the bus or purchasing different passes for different transit providers, riders can carry one card that works across the entire region.
"Regional Transit is excited to be able to offer its riders this flexible fare card that allows them to use nine different transit systems with the same card," said Andy Morin, Folsom Mayor and Sacramento Regional Transit District Board Chair.
The Connect Card is a state-of-the-art smart card fare payment system. With the full launch, customers can now ride transit seamlessly across the region using a single card on nine transit agencies: Regional Transit, e-tran, El Dorado Transit, Folsom Stage Line, Placer County Transit, Roseville Transit, SCT/Link, Yolobus, and Yuba-Sutter Transit. The Connect Card is similar to other smart card fare payment systems in the country, including the Clipper(r) Card in the San Francisco Bay area, the ORCA(r) Card in Seattle and the TAP Card in Los Angeles.
"The Connect Card is the first of many technologies that we want to introduce to the Sacramento region in order to transform he we use transportation and mobility services," said James Corless, CEO of SACOG.
Transit riders can get a free Connect Card and add cash value or a transit pass at a participating transit agencies, online at Connecttransitcard.com, by phone at 916-321-2877, or through select Raley's stores in the Sacramento region. A complete list of retail locations is available on the Connect Card website. Once registered, the Connect Card offers multiple benefits, including an autoload feature, theft/fraud protection and online account management.
Check it out at https://www.connecttransitcard.com/