Skylink is three years behind schedule and almost one billion over budget!

What is the Mastercard Public Transit Benefit?‎

The Mastercard Public Transit Benefit is currently open to individuals with a U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Argentina or Chile-issued Mastercard credit or debit card OR one of the following U.S.-issued prepaid cards (Fintwist® Mastercard® Payroll card, dash® Prepaid Mastercard®, H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard®, rapid! PayCard® Mastercard® Payroll Card, The uLink Prepaid Mastercard®, Alpha Cash Prepaid Mastercard® or Belong Passport™ Prepaid Mastercard®) OR one of the following Argentina-issued prepaid cards (Mercado Libre, UALA, PREX or POMELO).

Once an eligible cardholder spends $10 USD or more in a calendar month using contactless payment (digital wallet or plastic) at point of entry (which does not include ticket vending machines or online transactions) within a participating public transit system they will receive a $2.50 USD statement credit.

Where is the Mastercard Public Transit Benefit available?‎

The Mastercard Public Transit Benefit is is available in Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New Jersey and New York select metropolitan areas; Philadelphia, PA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC.

The participating transit agencies include:

• Atlanta, GA: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
• Boston, MA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
• Chicago, IL: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace Suburban Bus
• Dallas, TX: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
• Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) and micro transit (Metro Micro)
• Miami-Dade County, FL: Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW)
• New York/New Jersey: Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) and New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit)
• Philadelphia, PA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
• San Diego, CA: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS)
• San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
• Washington, DC: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

What qualifies as public transportation?‎

For the purpose of this benefit, public transit within the participating markets includes:

• Atlanta, GA: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) bus and rail system, including local and express bus service, heavy rail (subway), and streetcar
• Boston, MA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus, subway and ferry
• Chicago, IL: Chicago Transit Authority bus, rail, train and Pace Suburban Bus
• Dallas, TX: Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus, streetcar, rail and train
• Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) bus and rail, and micro transit (Metro Micro)
• Miami-Dade County, FL: Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works bus and metrorail
• New York/New Jersey: rail system for PATH; bus and light rail system for NJ TRANSIT
• Philadelphia, PA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus, Metro and Regional Rail
• San Diego, CA: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) buses and Trolleys
• San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) heavy rail
• Washington, DC: WMATA bus and subway

How do I know if I’m eligible for this benefit?‎

Call Mastercard Assistance Center (MAC) at 1-800-Mastercard (1-800-627-8372) to understand if you are eligible for this offer.

When is the Mastercard Public Transit Benefit available?‎

The benefit is available 10/1/24 through 12/31/27.

Whenever I’m riding the B Line to work in the morning and happen to sit next to a group of Metro Ambassadors, they’re so open and loud about their personal conversations and workplace drama, that I feel like I know them personally by now without ever talking with them directly lol.😂

Metro uploaded the digital meeting that provides community updates for the Noho Pasadena BRT.

Finally bore witness to fare enforcement for the first time since ~2018(?). Going home from work yesterday, a group of Metro cops got on the A Line going Northbound to verify fare and for the most part, the cops were very friendly (with one exception). So I did wanna discuss the issues with what I did see…

• Apparently not all of the cops are informed that TAP also takes single charge debit/ credit now? One of the cops was not believing a woman who used her debit card as fare until someone else stepped up to vouch for her.
• The lead cop did have a bit of a power trip that seemed to scare some honest/ innocent passengers into being intimated and stressed for their proof of valid fare rather than complying calmly about it

Overall, I am a fan of this, as they prevented other riders who were shirtless or had loudspeakers blasting music on subsequent stops, but I do think their methods of approach could be better and more knowledgable about the state of Metro fares.

Of all the benefits Alan mentioned, there's one benefit that needs emphasizing. And it's psychological.

When people usually see freshly installed tracks in the ground with overhead wiring, they know that there's going to be a train that'll get them from A to B in a fixed, timely fashion. With buses, routes can change on a whim by simply relocating a few stops, and that creates uncertainty, delays, and frustration.

So naturally, properties that are closer to LRT will go up in value.

Event: CicLAvia Pasadena, an Open Streets event.

When: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026.

Time: Hours have not been announced.

Cost: Free; no tickets required.

Where: A portion of Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, with a connection to the Metro A Line Memorial Park station. Route maps and street closure information will be released in the coming weeks.

For more, email city planner Tony Jusay at ajusay@cityofpasadena.net, or visit cityofpasadena.net or ciclavia.org.

I had discussions with 2 different people today saying that they're sticking to TAP cards despite credit/debit cards now being accept mainly because of reimbursements from their employer and that it's a pain in the butt to track down the charges on their credit card or debit card.

But if you think outside of the box, wouldn't this be much more easier to do if one just opened up a no monthly fee/no min balance free checking account to be used solely for transit uses? There are plenty of online banks and local credit unions that offer these things, such as Capital One 360, Discover Checking, AMEX Rewards Checking, etc. etc. Basically just create a second free checking account for the sole purpose of riding transit.

Then every transaction on that debit card will all be transit card uses and you can basically send that monthly statement to your employer and be reimbursed directly into that bank account. And you can have expanded uses that it can now be used for ANY transit that accept open payments like OCTA, SDMTS, BART, NYCMTA, etc. etc. instead of just TAP agencies. And unlike a TAP card, if you ever need the money, you can withdraw it anytime, instead of being forever locked in the TAP card with no way to get the money back.

Counting the conversation of Mayor Bass' Free Fares idea from CBS 2. Enforce the fares get a mention

It’s been a few months now and while using our debit/credit cards is accepted I’ve stuck to using my TAP card

For me it’s because the validators that we can use the debit/credit cards on largely has a 50/50 chance of actually working. At least with the TAP card if I’m boarding at the front entrance of a bus I can use the fare box validator if the tap validator next to it isn’t working properly