Quick. Easy. Secure.
A contactless bus fare payment pilot through the Connecticut Integrated Transit Mobility Project (CT-ITMP)
Quick. Easy. Secure.
A contactless bus fare payment pilot through the Connecticut Integrated Transit Mobility Project (CT-ITMP)
Tap & Ride contactless bus fare payments are currently available on-board River Valley Transit, and CTtransit Meriden Division fixed-route buses.
Tap & Ride payment readers allow customers to tap a card that supports contactless payments or smart device with mobile wallet to purchase their fare on-board the bus. Tap & Ride only accepts Visa and Mastercard branded cards at this time.
Tap & Ride provides customers with an additional payment option. Tap & Ride is not a replacement for any existing methods of fare payment. All existing methods of payment will remain.
*Please see the section below entitled "Fare Capping: You tap, we do the math!" for more information about Tap & Ride fare policy.
Look for payment readers like this on-board buses.
Cards that support contactless payments will have this symbol on the front or back.
Any bus that contains a payment reader, will accept contactless fare payments. All fixed-route River Valley Transit buses are equipped with contactless payment readers. River Valley Transit routes can be viewed at the following link: River Valley Transit Routes.
Tap & Ride is not currently available on dial-a-ride services such as Xtra-Mile and ADA Paratransit.
Five CTtransit Meriden Division routes are included in the Tap & Ride pilot.
CTtransit routes and schedules can be viewed at the following link: CTtransit Local Routes
For your awareness: Any CTtransit routes not listed above are not currently included in the pilot; even if they may connect with Tap & Ride routes. Routes 55 Hartford/Middletown, 201 Madison, 215 North Haven/Meriden/Wallingford, 291 Center Street, 292 North Colony Road, 511 New Britain/Meriden, 512 South Main Street/Berlin Turnpike, 567 Meriden/Wallingford, and 940 Meriden/Waterbury Express cannot currently accept Tap & Ride as a form of fare payment.
Route map of the Tap & Ride service areas with River Valley Transit and CTtransit Meriden Division routes and names listed.
Through the Customer Transactions Inquiry Page, customers can easily access their payment history and see a detailed breakdown of each transaction, including the date, time, and fare amount for every trip taken. Customers can review their payment history at any time to track expenses or verify charges, ensuring transparency and convenience. This feature is designed to help passengers manage their transit spending efficiently while keeping their information secure.
To view your fare payment history, click the following link: Tap & Ride's Customer Transactions Inquiry Page
For your awareness, the Customer Transactions Inquiry Page does have a UK web address. Only transactions made within the past 14 days will be visible.
Tap & Ride now offers on-board contactless fare payments to customers who qualify for the Senior/Disabled reduced fare rate. In order to use Tap & Ride with the Senior/Disabled reduced rate, customers must register a Visa or Mastercard branded card that supports contactless payments.
Online Registration Form: Tap and Ride Senior/Disability Eligibility Form
The form requires customers to provide the following information:
River Valley Transit
Attn: Senior/ Disability Reduced Fare
91 N Main St. Middletown, CT 06457
With Tap & Ride’s fare capping feature, the contactless payment reader knows how long you've been riding and will ensure that you are never paying more than the cost of a day pass or 31-day pass within that period of time. Using Tap & Ride you cannot be charged more than $3.50 total in a 24-hour period or $52.50 total in a 31-day period.
To get the benefit of fare capping you must use the same form of payment every time you tap. Make sure that you are using either your mobile wallet only or your physical card only for all of your contactless fare payments. Do not alternate. Even if your card information is loaded onto your mobile wallet the system will recognize it as a separate form of payment, and you will not receive the proper fare cap.
2 - Hour
Regular Fare: $1.75
S/D Reduced Fare: $0.85
Day Pass*
Regular Fare: $3.50
S/D Reduced Fare: $1.70
31-Day Pass**
Regular Fare: $52.50
S/D Reduced Fare: $25.50
*All day passes for customers using Tap & Ride will expire after 24-hours for both River Valley Transit and CTtransit Meriden Division.
** Customers who use Tap & Ride will never be charged more than $52.50 in a 31-day period regardless of whether they primarily travel with CTtransit Meriden Divison or River Valley Transit.
Through the Customer Transactions Inquiry Page, customers can easily access their payment history and see a detailed breakdown of each transaction, including the date, time, and fare amount for every trip taken. Customers can review their payment history at any time to track expenses or verify charges, ensuring transparency and convenience. This feature is designed to help passengers manage their transit spending efficiently while keeping their information secure.
To log in, please click the following link: Tap & Ride's Customer Transactions Inquiry Page
Yes. Tap & Ride contactless payment readers now offer Senior/Disabled reduced fares. As of January 2025, bus customers who qualify for the Senior/Disabled reduced fare rate can register a card with contactless payment capabilities using the following form: Senior/Disabled Registration Form
Registered cards will automatically be charged reduced fare prices when using Tap & Ride to pay on-board the bus. Remember to use the same card every time you pay so you get the proper fare price and access the benefits of fare capping.
You cannot use the same card to pay for yourself and another passenger with Tap & Ride. Tap & Ride card readers will not allow you to charge your card more than once in a 5-minute period.
However, physical and mobile version of a single card are considered distinct forms of payment in the Tap & Ride system and can therefore be tapped one after another. Using the digital version of your card that is uploaded to your mobile wallet provides an option for those who only have one card would like to use Tap & Ride to pay for another person's fare. Please note that doing so will create two separate fare caps. Always use the same form of payment when using Tap & Ride for yourself.
If you lose the card you had registered for Senior/Disabled fares with Tap & Ride, or your card expires, you can simply register a new card using the same form you used to register the first time for the Senior/Disabled fare rate with Tap & Ride: Senior/Disabled Registration Form
Yes. Starting March 3, 2025, all mobile passes purchased in the River Valley Transit district will include a QR code. To board using a mobile pass, customers must scan the QR code at the Tap & Ride payment readers. CTtransit mobile passes will not include a scannable QR code.
Please be patient while scanning your mobile pass. If you move your device too quickly beneath the scanner, it will have difficulty reading the QR code.
We recommend holding your mobile pass up to the bottom of the payment reader and slowly pulling the device down until the reader chimes and displays the green "Go" screen.
Email Inbox: DOT.Transitcx@ct.gov
Voicemail Inbox: (860) 594-3618
Customer Service: (860) 510-0429
Meriden Division Customer Service: (203) 753-2538
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This project is made possible due to funding from a stage 1 USDOT Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SMART