The Utah Transit Authority will soon unveil a new electronic payment card and with it take another step toward doing away with cash fares on all buses and trains, according to standard.net.

The transit agency will introduce its prepaid, reloadable electronic FAREPAY card, which will require riders to tap on an electronic reader before boarding a train or bus and tap off when transferring or exiting the system.

The cashless system will make riding public transit more convenient. Riders will no longer need exact change or have to wait in line at ticket vending machines. A cashless system would also allow the agency to track each rider, which helps gather ridership data and makes enforcement of fare violations easier.

The new electronic payment card will launch October 14. FAREPAY cards must be activated before they can be used and after paying an initial one-time $3 activation fee, riders can load any amount from $5 to $500 on the card. Once a card is registered, riders can also check their balance, schedule automatic reloads, and ensure loss and theft protection.

UTA officials said that by 2020 they want to do away with all cash payments on the agency’s three main modes of transit — buses, TRAX and the FrontRunner commuter train.

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