Google Opens 'Wallet' for NJ Transit Customers

NJ Transit commuters using Sprint smartphones now have one less thing to juggle during the early morning station ticket rush.

The public transportation agency announced Wednesday it partnered with Google to bring the technology company's app-based Wallet payment system to customers. NJ Transit is the first mass transit system in the U.S. to use Google Wallet.

At select locations, customers with the app will be able to "tap and pay" with their phones that are linked to their credit card. Gov. Chris Christie said in a press release that the move demonstrates the state and its transit system are at the forefront of emerging technology.

The free app is currently only available on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G phone and supports Citi MasterCard credit cards and a Google Prepaid Card. Google says it has plans to support additional card companies and more Android devices with near field communication (NFC) capabilities in the future. NFC enables wireless data transmission between two objects when they are brought in close proximity with one another.

The free smartphone app allows riders who download it to wave their phone in front of a sensor to pay fares.

This option, though, is limited to ticket vending machines and buses that have near field communication, or NFC, technology to transmit the payments wirelessly. That significantly shrinks riders' options to use Google Wallet, making it available only at New York Penn Station and Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as on bus routes 6, 43, 80, 81, 87 and 120, with limited access on 126.

"We are putting the latest technology to work for our customers and improve the overall customer experience," said NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein in a statement. "By partnering with Google, we are leading the industry with emerging technologies that will streamline the way customers buy their transportation tickets."

Despite the limitations, some commuters said they might use the app.

Cicely Nash, 30, and Erin Roese, 27, waited Wednesday afternoon in South Orange for a train to New York. Though the South Orange station does not have the technology for Google Wallet, Nash said she would use the app at Penn Station if it cuts down time waiting in line to buy a ticket, "Everything is so accessible now on the phone."

Roese, who said she uses her credit card to pay for a ticket, said she would consider using the app because "it's one less thing to carry around."

Neither woman had the required Sprint phone.

Tyler said Google approached NJ Transit about Wallet, but declined to elaborate why the company chose the nation's third largest mass transit system, citing business practices. "We feel strongly that using mobile payments in a transit environment can make commuting faster," he said.

Penny Bassett-Hackett, an NJ Transit spokeswoman, said the agency plans to install more NFC-able machines for Wallet users by the end of the year, starting with the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York.

Tyler said Google decided to implement Wallet with mass transit after witnessing several Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, use NFC technology for train fares. For now, though, he said Wallet is available only in the U.S