All The Ways To Pay — Including Cash

Jan 9, 2020

Change is hard. And at the beginning of this year, we made a major change: we modernized how we pay for transit by retiring two payment methods — paper fares and the TriMet Tickets App — that had been with us for a long time.

All in all, you handled the change amazingly well. (And for that you have our gratitude — thank you!)

Now that we’re living in a post-paper fare world, we’ve heard some confusion about what your options are for paying for transit. Some riders thought that we no longer accept cash, or that the ticket machines are going away (not true for either!).

Here’s a simple guide for all the ways to pay on TriMet.

Hop Card

Buy a plastic Hop card. Remember to tap it on the green Hop reader every time you board or transfer.

Phone

Download the Hop mobile app and add a virtual Hop card to your mobile wallet.

Or if you just want to pay the Adult fare, you can tap your phone to pay using a credit/debit card in your mobile wallet.

When you’re ready to ride, just tap your phone on the green Hop reader. Make sure you tap every time you board or transfer.

Contactless Credit/Debit Card

Does your credit card have a contactless icon? You can pay an Adult fare by tapping it on a Hop reader every time you board or transfer.

Cash

At least one ticket machine at each MAX station takes cash — you’ll get a paper Hop ticket which you tap on the green Hop reader every time you ride.

On buses, you can still insert cash into the fare box, same as always. Just remember exact fare is required, and operators can’t make change.

And, you can load money on your Hop card using cash at 500+ retail locations including Fred Meyer and Safeway stores.

Not sure which to choose?

We have a short quiz you can take to figure out which payment option is best for you.

Take the quiz

Need Help?

If you’re stuck or have any questions, contact us and we’ll help you sort it out.

Contact Rider Support

Maritza Collazo

Marketing Communications Coordinator

Public transit advocate, lover of BBQ sauce, and reggaeton megafan. I'm on my 80th West Wing rewatch.

collazom@trimet.org | All posts

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