CapMetro Board Approves Fare Payment System Upgrade

Austin, TX — The CapMetro Board of Directors approved the implementation of a new fare payment system designed to enhance customer experience, streamline operations, and incorporate upgraded payment technologies, such as Tap to Pay. The upgrades will launch on March 1, 2025, when the CapMetro app will be retired and replaced with the Umo and Transit apps. 

Customers will use the new Umo app to pay their fares and use Transit to plan their trip. The updated fare collection system changes are part of an iterative process to reduce the number of customer apps and ensure a better boarding and riding experience.

“Anything we can do to improve the customer experience makes it easier for people to try transit and improves the overall satisfaction for everyone—our customers, operators, visitors and occasional riders as well, “said Samantha Baez, CapMetro’s Chief Experience and Engagement Officer. “These upgrades simplify the payment and boarding processes and lay the foundation for a smoother transit experience in Central Texas,”  

The upgraded system marks a significant milestone in CapMetro’s commitment to delivering innovative and user-friendly transit services. Key features of the new system include:

  • Tap to Pay: Customers can use contactless payments to pay their fares using credit or debit cards, as well as digital wallet platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
  • New Validators: New fare scanners ‘validators’ with improved scanning, visual, and audio indicators are being installed across the fleet to ensure faster and seamless boarding. The installations are expected to be completed by mid-February 2025.
  • Improved Mobile App: The CapMetro app will be retired. Customers will begin using Umo to pay for fares and the existing Transit app for trip planning—part of a long-term strategy to simplify digital tools. The two apps will be integrated as part of this process.
  • Reloadable Fare Cards and Digital Passes: A new reloadable fare card that reduces single-use waste while retaining fare capping cost savings benefits for frequent riders. CapMetro will retire its digital 31-day and 7-day passes. Future digital payments will automatically allow for daily and monthly fare caps, so customers never overpay for a ride and don’t need to pay the full amount upfront.
  • No Changes to Fare Rates: Fares are not changing; only the way CapMetro collects fares is changing. 

CapMetro is actively engaging customers to ensure a successful transition, including how and when customers can begin transferring their fare balances. During the upgrade process, some buses may be equipped with dual validators for testing and continued fare collection. Customers are encouraged to ask their operator for help during the transition. Rail systems will also receive new handheld validators to validate tickets purchased through mobile apps or ticket vending machines. 

For more information about the new fare payment system and upcoming changes, visit CapMetro.org/Fare-Updates. 

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ABOUT CAPMETRO    
CapMetro connects people, jobs, and communities by providing Central Texans with safe, high-quality, and sustainable transportation alternatives. The agency provides over 63,000 daily trips on its buses, trains, paratransit, and vanpool vehicles and serves a population of more than 1.2 million in its 543-square-mile service area. The region’s transportation leader, CapMetro has invested in transit services like its High-Frequency Network, which moves more people, more reliably. CapMetro is committed to increasing regional mobility and, through Project Connect, will transform how people travel throughout Central Texas.