The change from paper tickets to TAP Cards is causing confusion for some at the ticket machines.
Discover LA by Metro:
Goodbye, Paper Tickets. It’s Time to TAP!
You must tap your TAP card before boarding each train.
The Los Angeles Metro system now uses a plastic card containing a computer chip — TAP (Transit Access Pass) Card — for all fares. The TAP Card is used for fares on the light rail/subway and buses.
Each person needs a TAP Card — no sharing. The only exception: two children under 5 years old may ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
To ride the LA Metro light rail/subway, you need to tap your TAP Card for each train you ride. There are no free transfers between lines. TAP Cards can be loaded with single-ride fares, dollar amounts, or pass fares.
All Metro ticket vending machines dispense TAP Cards for $1.00 in addition to the fare or pass loaded on them at the time of purchase. Once you have a TAP Card, it can be reloaded at any Metro ticket machine.
The automated ticket machines are easy to use and give step-by-step instructions in several languages. The help button activates in-depth instructions.
For a better view of the steps, click on the photos to enlarge.
How to Buy Your TAP Card and Load Your Fare:
To buy a new TAP Card, press button A. To add dollar value or a fare to your TAP Card, press button G. To check your balance, press button H.
If you don’t have a TAP Card:
• To buy a new TAP Card, press the silver button on the machine for Option A — Purchase New TAP Card + Fare.
When you already have a TAP Card:
• To load dollar value onto your TAP Card, press button G.
• To check the balance on your TAP Card, press button H.
To add value or a pass to your TAP Card, or to check the status of your card, press the appropriate button, tap your card on the ticketing machine, and follow the instructions. Tap your TAP Card on the machine to complete your transaction.
Select Your Fare:
Payment can be made using cash, credit cards, or debit cards. Ticket machines accept $20 and smaller bills and coins. The machines dispense $1 coins instead of bills for change, so you might end up with a lot of coins if you insert a $20 bill.
The fares that can be added to a regular TAP Card are: A – 7-Day Pass; C – One Ride fare; F- Regular Day Pass; G – 30-Day Pass. H- Senior/Disabled peak fare; I – Senior/Disabled off-peak fare.
• Regular one-ride fares are $1.50.
• The senior or disabled fare is $.55 during peak hours and $.25 non-peak.
• A regular Day Pass is $5 and is valid from the first tap until 3 a.m. the following morning.
• A 7-Day Pass is $20 and is the best bet if you’ll be doing 13 or more boardings during a week.
• A 30-Day Pass is $75.
The valid time period for a 7-Day or 30-Day TAP Pass begins on its first use. It doesn’t matter if it’s the beginning, middle, or end of the week or the month.
Load Dollar Value for Easy Riding:
Lump-sum dollar values can be added to a TAP Card. The amount of each fare is then deducted when you tap for each ride. This is an easy way to handle multiple rides.
Lump-sum dollar amounts can also be added to your TAP Card. When tapped on entry, the amount of a regular one-ride fare will be deducted from your balance unless a valid pass is loaded on the card; a pass takes precedence over single-ride fares. For example, if you have a cash balance on your TAP Card and you buy a Day Pass, your cash balance will not be reduced during the day that you use the Day Pass.
Discount TAP Cards Require Special Purchase:
Senior and disabled TAP Cards are eligible for discounted fares.
Senior and disabled TAP Cards are not sold at the automated ticket machines. These cards, which allow loading of discounted passes, require an ID and must be obtained either from a Metro Customer Center or with a downloaded application form that is mailed in. Ticket machines recognize the status of these cards and allow the loading of discounted passes. Senior and disabled Day Passes are $1.80 and can be loaded only on these special TAP Cards. With this good value, it is worth the effort to get your special TAP Card if you qualify.
When lump-sum dollar amounts are loaded on these special TAP Cards, the discounted one-ride fare amount is automatically deducted at the entry gates unless a valid pass is loaded.
Student discount TAP Cards are also available through Metro and some schools. See Metro’s Reduced Fares page for more information.
Tap and Go:
When you tap your TAP Card, you can see your fare status. If you tap more than once, the entry monitor will tell you that your card has been tapped.
The TAP Card registers if it has been tapped at the entry gate. Tap your TAP Card for each train you ride. You’ll find the TAP validators on the turnstile or next to the train platform entry. If you’re changing from the Red/Purple Line to the Expo or Blue Line in the 7th/Metro Station, there are TAP validators near the stairs on the Expo/Blue Line level.
Metro monitoring personnel have machines that read these cards. If you don’t have a valid TAP Card fare, you’ll be socked with a hefty $250 fine.
Turnstiles at Metro stations operate in both directions. It is necessary to press the TAP Card to the blue circle on entry.
For more information on using Metro, see our pages on Riding Metro 101 and Metro Maps & Getting Around.
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What can I do if I have a regular TAP card with, say, $20 loaded on to it and usually only ride twice at a time (meaning, out and back again, or one round trip, on the day when I do use it) but sometimes end up on multiple rides? For instance: today we went to Culver City on the Expo line around lunchtime and then later decided to go to North Hollywood on the Red Line for dinner, and we’re going to stop in Hollywood for a drink on the way back. It’s going to charge me 5 x $1.50, isn’t it? or would it basically consider this a day pass and stop at $5?
Since I don’t usually ride 4 stretches in one day, if I load a day pass on to the card, will it automatically activate the day pass if I only use it for the one round trip? (thus wasting the rest of the value?) Or is there a way to tell the turnstile, “this time use a single $1.50 deduction” vs “this time use the day pass value”?
Thanks for reading our blog! Day passes are purchased separately from cash value and are activated the first time the card is used after the pass is loaded on the card. After the pass expires, cash value will be deducted when the card is used. There is no way to convert cash value to a day pass.
Not sure if you will see this, but I’m wondering if it is possible to load a TAP with multiple single rides. We are thinking of making 4 metro rail trips while in LA (2 return). We don’t want to use cash as there is no $6 option, so I am wondering if after purchasing a TAP + single ride for $2.50 at a red line machines we can immediately add 3 more single trips (using three transactions). If so this would mean we only need to go to the machines once. If not we will have to go to the machine each time, which is less convenient. I would much appreciate a reply.
Hi Hamish,
We’re not employees of Metro, so we don’t have official insight into the workings of the TAP Cards.
However, we have actually done this — added multiple rides. We found that while you can load multiple rides onto a TAP Card, the card doesn’t register them the same way as when you load a dollar amount — so get a receipt printed and keep it. Our experience was that the rides were deducted when we tapped the card, but the card reader showed no rides loaded.
We tried this when we were traveling with a senior who didn’t have a senior TAP Card. We bought a regular TAP Card and then loaded six senior rides. Each ride was deducted when the card was tapped.
However, during the journey, the card was checked by a sheriff and the rides did not register on his card reader. Fortunately we had receipts for the rides loaded all at the same time and the sheriff did not issue a ticket.
We suggest that loading a day pass or adding value is a much easier way to use the TAP Cards — as this seems to be how they were setup.
Thanks so much for such a comprehensive reply. Your knowledge on this subject is obviously very good.
Based on what you’ve said I’ve decided we will add one ride each to out tap cards before each train ride.
Using day passes or cash, although more convenient, would cost us considerably more, hence I have ruled out that option.
It is interesting to read about TAP. In Auckland where I live a new card called HOP is being rolled out, and eventually cash will be the only option, with caps instead of passes, and single rides still on paper. Short-term users however will not use our card because it costs $10. This is because the card is charged after completing a ride (we have to tag off), which is because unlike LA we don’t have a flat fare. And obviously the charge for the card has to be greater than the maximum charge on the network or people would simply buy a card to ride with not have any balance (it supports negative balance), and instead buy a new card for each trip.
I bought a tap card at the Jefferson/ LaCienega station and loaded it with a senior fair. It took it. I mention this because the above information indicates I shouldn’t be able to do that. I also tapped it and the machine indicated the fare had been accepted.
Thanks for reading our blog!
You can, indeed, load a single-ride senior fare on a standard TAP Card, as noted in our post. You need a Senior TAP Card to buy a senior multi-ride pass and/or add cash value for senior fares.
If you qualify for a Senior or Disabled TAP Card, we think it’s worth the effort to get one. With cash value on the card, you needn’t stop at a ticketing machine every time you get on a train, and you can buy senior multi-ride passes as well.