PATH riders will be able to pay fares by tapping a smartphone, credit or debit card on a fare reader, just like NYC subway passengers have done since 2019, with operation starting in mid-2023.
Port Authority commissioners approved a $99.4 million contract with Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. at Thursday’s board meeting to complete the design and installation of the new contactless PATH fare payment system.
This is the same company hired by New York’s MTA in 2017 to replace the MetroCard with OMNY, which was installed and operational in all 472 subway stations and city buses on Jan. 5. While it functions like OMNY, fare readers will not read both OMNY and PATH cards, officials said.
“The overwhelming expectation is people will use what is most convenient, which is their phone and their credit card,” said Rick Cotton, executive director. “There is no difference using your credit card on OMNY and PATH.”
Whether the OMNY and PATH card could be used on both systems, Cotton said, “We’re going to have to look at that.”
A phased rollout of the new fare collection system will be implemented in the second half of 2023 and use of the existing PATH SmartLink card will be discontinued in 2024. It will be replaced by a new tap-n-go smart card similar an OMNY contactless fare card that started being sold in stores in New York last month.
The system will be designed, configured and tested next year and a transition to the new system would start in 2023, said Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH General Manager and Director. Passengers would start to see new fare “validators” in stations mid-2023 and the new fare payment system would be full deployed in the beginning of 2024, she said.
But transit advocates from the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition are concerned the new fare card puts a barrier up for senior citizens who want to use their federally-mandated fare discount.
“We worry that cashless systems will make it harder to get these barriers reversed and are pleased that New Jersey requires almost every business and public agency to accept cash,” said Sally Jane Gellert, coalition chairwoman.
Retired coalition chairman David Peter Alan echoed these concerns, citing restrictions at transit agencies across the country that have switched to fare cards and require seniors to obtain a reduced cost fare card in advance or go to a specific location to buy one.
That violates federal requirements that only requires seniors to show a Medicare card and proof of age to get the discount, he said.
PATH already requires seniors to pre-registration by mail, pay a fee, and go through a waiting period before a person of suitable age is allowed to ride for reduced fare.
By comparison, NJ Transit sells discounted senior fare tickets in vending machines and on its app. While NJ Transit offers a reduced fare ID card, it also accepts any legal ID with a date of birth that is issued by a government or mass transit agency, including PATH. Riders can show either the ID or Medicare card as proof of eligibility.
The theory of a “regional” fare card makes sense, because it’s convenient for riders and could encourage region-wide travel, Gellert said. “However, we will not endorse any proposal that restricts the statutory right of persons 65 and older to obtain reduced ‘senior fare’ by presenting a Medicare card or other ID showing their age.”
Port Authority officials didn’t immediately respond to questions about how they plan to address the senior discount issue.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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