L.A. DOT joins area smart card system

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is the newest member of the regional TAP smart card system in Los Angeles County designed and delivered by Cubic Transportation Systems Inc., a business segment of San Diego-based Cubic Corp.

The TAP system is an initiative of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), which developed and manages the regional automated transit revenue collection system. LADOT is the 12th transit operator in the region to join TAP and is the second largest bus operator on TAP, after Metro.

The DOT runs the DASH and Commuter Express Transit bus fleets serving the downtown Los Angeles area and outlying major urban centers.

LADOT is an integral participant in the TAP system and the region, operating over 300 vehicles, and bringing the total number of vehicles in the region on TAP to 4,435. This new expansion makes Los Angeles the largest regional smart card operation in the U.S., according to Jane Matsumoto, deputy executive officer at Metro.

Cubic integrated the onboard smart card validators independently from the cash collecting fare boxes that allow LADOT customers to “tap and go.” Value stored on the card can be used on LADOT buses as well as other TAP-enabled buses run by Metro and other agencies in the Los Angeles region allowing patrons to use one card for completely seamless travel.