New CTA Transit Card Machines To Accept Credit/Debit Cards
CTA President Ron Huberman looks over one of the transit
agency’s new fare-card vending machines that accepts credit and debit
cards as CTA passengers pass through turnstiles at the Merchandise Mart
train station.
The Chicago Transit Authority is installing 60 fare-card
vending machines enabling customers to use credit cards to purchase
rides, the transit agency announced Monday.
The machines accept
Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and American Express credit cards, as
well as debit cards that have an accompanying credit card logo,
officials said.
Customers using the machines will be able to
purchase magnetic-strip transit cards and add value to either
magnetic-strip transit cards or Chicago Cards, which are electronic
smart cards.
When paying with a credit or debit card, the
minimum value that can be added to a magnetic-strip transit card or
Chicago Card is $5. As a security measure, the maximum value that can
be charged to a credit card is $25 each calendar day.
The first
five of 60 machines are located at the O’Hare International Airport
station on the Blue Line, the Merchandise Mart station serving the
Brown and Purple/Evanston Express Lines, the Clark/Lake station in the
Loop, the Adams/Jackson station on the Blue Line and the Midway Airport
station on the Orange Line, officials said.
After a 30-day test
period, the remaining 55 fare-card machines are expected to be
installed over the next four months at more than 45 CTA rail stations.
