Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Metro Is Testing Out Wearable TAP Card Wristbands

Have you ever missed your train while feverishly fumbling through your wallet for your TAP card? Well, the days of commute-busting purse searches could soon be a thing of the past.
Metro, which operates the majority of bus and rail service in Los Angeles County, is currently testing out a prototype TAP card wristband, which would allow riders to pay their fares using the wearable device. TAP cards are the contactless smart cards that the transit agency uses for fare payment and electronic ticketing. They've been in use for about a decade and are necessary for rail and light-rail travel (bus riders can still pay with cash or coin, though we advise you bring exact change as you won't be getting any back). The wristband prototype was introduced at a Metro committee meeting on Wednesday.
Metro mtg: here's a photo of the prototype TAP wristband Metro is looking into pic.twitter.com/uX8qJXLPSg
— StreetsblogLA (@StreetsblogLA) April 19, 2017
Metro spokesman Rick Jager told LAist that the wristband prototype is in the "very early" stages of development, and that it's currently being tested out in the disability community. "Approximately 20 to 25 disabled individuals are currently actually testing them on buses and trains," Jager told LAist. "It started about a week ago." The individuals testing the wristbands will share their likes and dislikes to help further develop the product.

Photo illustration by Julia Wick/LAist (Source images courtesy of Metro)
Oberthur Technologies of America designed the prototype, and provided Metro with the samples to use for testing. Jager told LAist that it was too early in the process to estimate how much they might cost riders, and that the earliest they might be available would be winter.
Streetsblog LA reports that a plan for TAP payment via mobile phone will be presented at next month's Metro committee meeting.
[h/t: Streetsblog LA]
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?