Hopping on a Capital Metro bus or train should soon be as easy as tapping a credit or debit card. In March, the regional transit agency will part ways with its unreliable QR code-based fare system and switch to tap-to-pay technology.
The new system will let riders pay with their phones using Apple Pay or Google Pay. Under CapMetro’s fare-capping model, tap-to-pay users won’t be charged more than $2.50 a day.
“Anything that we can do to remove any barriers to riding transit is a good thing,” said Sam Baez, a CapMetro executive vice president who oversees rider satisfaction and outreach.
As part of the transition, CapMetro will retire its branded app and move entirely to the Transit app. To avoid paying more than a seven-day pass in a week or a 31-day pass in a month, riders must use Cubic’s Umo app.
“It would be more convenient,” said Yami Salazar, an infrequent transit user waiting for a bus on South Congress Avenue. “Sometimes some of my quarters don’t go in and I’m like, ‘Oh no!’ and it gives me anxiety.”
Cash will still be accepted on buses. Fares are not increasing as part of the transition. Equifare – a relatively new discounted fare tier for people with lower incomes – will continue.
The system will be powered by San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, a firm working with more than 70 transit agencies across North America. The company also has its hands in defense contracting. The $6.4 million contract with Cubic’s transit division is for up to five years with an option to end the deal each year.
CapMetro began installing Cubic’s fare validators in early December. Testing will start later this month. Installation is expected by be complete by mid-February.
Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT News. Tap-to-pay will be available on CapMetro Rail. Conductors will use new handheld validators.
The outgoing QR code-based fare validators have frustrated riders for a long time.
“People are backed up behind you, and you’re trying to get the damn thing to scan,” James Johnson said on a cold afternoon while waiting for the bus on South First Street. “The bus driver just gets fed up with it, just hits the button to let them on through, just for the sake of moving the crowd along.”
Some people with visual impairments reported problems using the app, according to complaints to CapMetro obtained by KUT News through the Texas Public Information Act. Other users said they were overcharged. In at least one case, the transit agency apologized and offered a credit.
Maintenance workers dispatched to repair broken QR code scanners often resorted to resetting the devices – sometimes without success.
“Reboot the scanners. Unit continue on route. Driver call back 30 minutes later. They still not working,” reads one work order from May obtained by KUT News.
“Found all 3 scanners dead. Rebooted router. Router is powering up but still all 3 scanners are dead,” another entry from July says.
The scanners were installed by Bytemark, a New York City-based company owned by the German technology giant Siemens. According to CapMetro, Bytemark has stopped servicing the system.
“Our current system is no longer supported by the current vendor and is being retired on March 5, 2025,” reads an internal memo to Capital Metro’s board of directors.
A 2023 contract document obtained by KUT News shows CapMetro fined Bytemark more than $200,000 for missing performance goals. These issues surfaced even before the delayed launch of the current fare system and app in August 2023.
Nathan Bernier/KUT News. People taking the bus or train will have the option of buying new reloadable fare cards. The Amp Card, introduced less than two years ago, will no longer be usable.
Bytemark did not respond to a request for comment before this story was published.
“We are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience, and our contract was coming to a natural end in March 2025,” Baez said. “So that was a good opportunity for us to say, ‘OK, let’s envision what the future of our fare payment system and our trip planning could look like.'”
When asked how much revenue CapMetro lost due to faulty scanners, the agency declined to provide figures, instead directing KUT News to file a formal public information request. Fares accounted for just 3 percent of CapMetro’s revenue in 2024. The biggest source of funding is a 1 percent sales tax, which made up almost half of the agency’s $871 million budget last year.
CapMetro acknowledges the switch to a new payment system will come with challenges, but the agency says it hopes tap-to-pay will make life easier for current riders and attract new users to the city’s transit network.
Karina Lujan/KUT News. More than 73,000 people boarded a CapMetro bus each day on average in November, a year-over-year increase of 5 percent.
“If you’re a customer who maybe is riding once, twice a month – or maybe even festivalgoers or you’re a weekend trip rider – you might just want to tap and go and not download a different app or not track your riding,” Baez said. “This will make it easier.”
The changes come as Capital Metro’s ridership climbs to its highest levels since the pandemic. In November, riders boarded CapMetro buses more than 73,000 times a day, a 5 percent increase from November 2023. Annually, ridership is up 6.5 percent, according to the agency’s ridership dashboard.
CapMetro is inviting public input. An in-person meeting about the new payment system will be held on Tuesday at CapMetro headquarters on East Fifth Street. A public hearing will follow the next day at noon. You can also submit feedback to CapMetro on its website.
