New Jersey transit riders will soon get something familiar in many parts of Europe and Asia: the ability to pay for rides with a smartphone.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that riders will be able to use phones equipped with NFC technology and Google Wallet to pay for their rides.
Customers can use Google Wallet to buy transportation tickets at New York Penn Station ticket vending machines and ticket windows, Newark Liberty International Airport Rail Station, on bus route nos. 6, 43, 80, 81, 87, and 120, and on some buses on the 126 line.
Great as this is (for those of us tired of fumbling for bills or credit cards to use in the morning, anyway) it is so far only supported on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G phone, Citi MasterCard credit cards and Google Prepaid Cards, with plans to support more card companies and more Android devices with NFC capabilities in the future. But it is a good first step.
