Monterey-Salinas-Transit (MST) Announces Discount Contactless Fares for Riders 65+ with Launch of Benefits Eligibility Verification Website

During the week of December 12, 2021 Monterey-Salinas Transit became the first public transportation agency in the United States to enable its riders to verify their eligibility for discount transit fares online and to instantly add that discount benefit to a contactless open-loop debit or credit card. This launch marks the next phase of MST’s contactless payments demonstration that’s being facilitated by the California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP; www.calitp.org), an initiative of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to enable easy and accessible travel planning and payments. Now any older adult age 65+ with a California DMV–issued identification card can have their eligibility for MST’s Senior fare discount both instantly verified and instantly linked to their contactless-enabled Visa or Mastercard via the Cal-ITP Benefits secure web application: https://benefits.calitp.org MST General Manager/CEO Carl Sedoryk says, “Since the launch of our contactless credit and debit card fare option, we have been working with our partners at Caltrans and DMV to enable this discount for seniors. Remembering to bring cash and coin is no longer needed to ride the bus for those 65 and older. We are also working on enabling this same benefit to those with disabilities and veterans.” The Cal-ITP Benefits website does not save any user information, and there’s no need for a user to create an account. Right now, Cal-ITP Benefits will work for anyone who meets the following criteria: 65 years of age or older (no need to live in Monterey County) Has a form of identification issued by the California DMV (for example: a driver’s license or personal ID) Has a Visa or Mastercard contactless credit or debit card. Contactless means a card you can tap instead of swipe to pay. Look for this symbol on the front or back of your card: MST and Cal-ITP are working to enable discounted contactless fares for other categories of riders as well. If a rider doesn’t have a contactless debit or credit card, they can request one from their bank or from one of the companies that offer free contactless prepaid debit cards, such as the Visa Cash App Card. On the Cal-ITP Benefits website, the discount eligibility verification process takes less than 1 minute from start to finish, and the website walks a user through its few simple steps. Once a user links their discount eligibility to their contactless bank card, they’ll be able to tap into MST’s Senior Discount Fare right away—there’s no waiting; the discount is instantly applied to the contactless card. And they’ll receive that Discount Fare benefit every time they Tap to Ride with that contactless card on an MST fixed route bus. For complete information about tapping to pay, visit www.mst.org/contactless-payment. For more information, visit www.mst.org or call Monterey-Salinas Transit toll free at 1‑888‑MST‑BUS1 (1‑888‑678‑2871). For RealTime bus arrival information, text “Next” and your four-digit bus stop ID (example, “Next 9103”) to 25370, call 1‑888‑MST‑BUS1 with your four-digit bus stop ID, download the free Transit app, or use Google Maps. Follow MST on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mst_bus for the latest service alerts.