New York City's MTA To Accept Google Pay At Select Subway, Bus Lines

Aiming to make it easier for people to commute, Google Pay announced Thursday (May 23) it has added New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to the list of transit agencies that enable commuters to pay for rides through Google Pay.

In a company blog post, Prakash Hariramani, director for product management at Google Pay, said starting at the end of May, the MTA will enable the pay-per-ride feature on mobile devices at select subway stations and Staten Island buses. The executive said the company is working with the MTA to bring additional features with Google Maps and Google Assistant to commuting.

"When the public pilot opens next week, you’ll be able to use Google Pay to board all Staten Island buses and subway stations along the 4-5-6 lines between Grand Central and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center — no need to stand in line for a MetroCard," wrote Hariramani. "Using Google Pay to ride with your phone is simple. No need to open the app or unlock your device — and it’s the same price as a single ride MetroCard. Plus, it’s more secure. You don’t have to worry about losing your MetroCard, and Google Pay doesn’t share your actual credit or debit card number when you pay."

Google also announced that starting Thursday, subway riders in New York City have access to Google Assistant's new real-time transit feature to find out when the next train is arriving in the station. Google Assistant will provide the train's estimated time of arrival and walking directions to the station, all via voice commands.

Coming soon, Google Maps will enable users to see which routes accept Google Pay when a user looks up directions. The ability to add a payment method from Google Maps is also coming, the Google executive said.  Google said that feature will roll out in other locations in the next few weeks including Melbourne’s myki transit system, the New York City area’s MTA and London’s TfL.