When Apple released iOS 12.3 a few weeks ago, I said that I suspected that there were some features in there that I had not yet found. It turns out that one of them is a new feature called Express Transit, and this one looks really useful. If you have ever used Apple Pay to pay at a store, you know that it takes three steps to use. First, you trigger Apple Pay — on my iPhone XS and my Apple Watch, I do this by double-tapping on the side button. Second you authenticate that you are really you — on my iPhone XS I do this using Face ID, but on older iPhones you use Touch ID. (Your Apple Watch is authenticated just by virtue of it remaining on your arm since the last time that you unlocked it.) Third, you hold your iPhone close to the scanner to pay.
Express Transit cuts out the first two steps. All that you need to do is tap and pay. Tap your iPhone (or your Apple Watch) to the screen on a turnstile — or hold it within a few centimeters — and your iPhone or watch pays for your trip on the subway. You don't need to worry about purchasing a subway card, or making sure that your subway card has enough money on it. Just tap your iPhone or Apple Watch, and the cost of the ticket is charged to your credit or debit card. Your iPhone screen does not even need to be turned on.
This system is still pretty new, and I was waiting for reports of it being used successfully before posting about it. This past Friday, the system debuted on the New York subway system, run by the MTA. The first systems enabled are Staten Island buses and all stops on the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines between Grand Central and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The system should be enabled on the entire MTA system by 2021. Right now, the MTA system only supports full fare pay-per-ride, but in the future Express Transit will work with time-based passes, reduced fares, student fares, and more.
To use Express Transit, you first need to enable it on your iPhone. Go to the Settings app and tap Wallet & Apple Pay -> Express Transit Card and then select whether you want to pay using a credit card, debit card, Apple Cash, or some other payment program that you have configured for Apple Pay.
The initial reports that I've seen from this past weekend indicate that the system works well. Just tap your iPhone, and then the turnstile says GO and you can walk through. Edgar Alvarez of Engadget described using the system in this post, Raymond Wong of Mashable did so in this post, and even actor Neil Patrick Harris tweeted a picture of him using Express Transit:
The new iPhone update claimed that I can use my phone to pay for subway rides, and what, whaaat? - IT WORKS! #awesome #apple #phoningitin #thefuture #MTA #fourfivesix pic.twitter.com/WXZ7qXMYrQ
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) June 1, 2019
The big advantage of Express Transit is that it is so fast to use, but note that by cutting out the authentication step, this also means that someone could steal your iPhone and then use it to ride the subway. If you lose an iPhone with Express Transit enabled, you'll want to put the device into Lost Mode using the Find My iPhone app or using that option on the iCloud.com website.
You don't have to be in New York to use Express Transit. According to Apple, the system also currently works in Portland, Japan, and in China (Beijing and Shanghai). I'm sure that over time we will see even more systems supporting Express Transit. If Express Transit ever comes to the historic streetcars in my hometown of New Orleans, then I'll know that there is truly widespread adoption.
Note also that there are even more transit systems that allow you to pay with Apple Pay without using Express Transit, which means that you need to use all three of steps noted above — activate Apple Pay, authenticate, and then tap. This currently works in places like Chicago, Moscow, and Vancouver.
