BUFFALO, N.Y. — The NFTA launched MetGo over the weekend. It is a new app that lets you pay for your bus and train tickets. You then use your phone instead of a paper ticket to ride the bus or train.
"It's going to make boarding the system a lot faster, a little easier," says James Morrell, NFTA Director of Public Transit.
MetGo is an account-based app, so you load money onto it, then tap your phone to get onto the bus or through the fare gates at an underground MetroRail station. There is no need to take out cash.
"This is going to be really great for our customers and at some point, we thought it was going to be very difficult for individuals that don't have Wi-Fi and all that stuff, but what we found is 80, 85 percent of all our riders, they have smartphones and they'll be able to download the app real seamlessly," said James Morrell.
If you don't have a smartphone, you will still be able to buy a card for $2 that you can reload.
"They can also transfer that account to their phone, so you don't necessarily have to just use your card once you get the card, you can actually use the card, transfer the account to your phone, and use your phone," said James Morrell.
By using MetGo, your daily fare will also be capped at $5 no matter how many times you ride the bus or train that day.
"The first time you ride, $2 comes off, you tap. The next time you ride, $2 comes off, the third vehicle you get on, either a bus or a rail, it will only take a dollar at that point throughout your journey for the rest of the day, it's all free," said James Morrell.
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