San Diego Adopts Account-Based Contactless Transit
San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) in the US state of California is rolling out an account-based contactless ticketing system that will let passengers pay their public transit fares with a physical or digital transit card and have those fares capped to a maximum of the price of a daily or monthly pass. Find out more about San Diego transit ticketing below.
Starting September 1, MTS and NCTD riders can use the new regional fare system, PRONTO.
PRONTO will replace the Compass Card and Cloud systems entirely, offering riders a better payment experience when choosing transit.
We know riders have lots of questions about the transition from Compass to PRONTO. You can read more specific information in the dropdown menus below, but here are some key details:
What’s New:
- Earn-as-you-go to get the best fare, every time! Load money into your PRONTO account or onto your card, then scan or tap with each trip you make to earn a Day or Monthly Pass as you ride. (COASTER excluded – will still require upfront payment for Day and Monthly Passes.)
- One-way fares on PRONTO will be valid for unlimited transfers within two hours of activation.
- Get real-time account management online (no more waiting up to 48 hours for passes to be available)
- A wider retail network to purchase and reload PRONTO cards
To celebrate the launch of PRONTO, riders who get a PRONTO card or the mobile app in advance will ride MTS free* in September (yes, a full month of free transit!).
Ride Free in September with PRONTO san diego transit ticketing
With PRONTO, you can ride free for the entire month of September. You must have a PRONTO card or the PRONTO mobile app account in order to get free rides during September.
To help make this as easy as possible, MTS will be doing lots of community outreach in the month of August to give out free PRONTO cards, and help riders get registered for a PRONTO account.
How do I get the PRONTO mobile app?
The PRONTO mobile app is expected to be available for rider download in the App Store and Google Play store starting September 1 (check back for updates on potential for an earlier release date). At that time, riders can download the mobile app and register using their email address, and by adding a payment option (credit or debit card). Riders will not need to add any money into their mobile app to take advantage of free rides.
