Apple Pay for transit is now available in twelve major U.S. cities, offering a convenient payment method for public transportation users. The cities include Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, DC. While some cities have supported this feature for years, others like Atlanta recently introduced it in 2026 with the MARTA contactless system. This system allows iPhone and Apple Watch users to easily pay fares at rail stations using the Apple Wallet app.
With Apple Pay for transit, iPhone owners can enable Express Mode to pay fares without unlocking their device or using Face ID or Touch ID. The Express Transit Card can be selected in the Wallet and Apple Pay settings. When a card is associated with Express Mode, it allows automatic payments without authentication. On iPhones with power reserve, transit payments are possible even when the battery is depleted, lasting up to five hours after shutdown on iPhone XS and later models.
Different cities have varying requirements for adding payment methods to the Wallet app, with some needing specific transit cards like Chicago’s Ventra or LA’s TAP card. Fare capping is also available in certain areas, such as New York’s OMNY system, where subway and bus fares are capped at $35 per week. Similar systems exist in LA and Orange County.
Apple Pay for transit is compatible with iPhone 6s, 2016 iPhone SE, and later models, as well as Apple Watch Series 1 and later with watchOS 5.2.1 or newer. The feature is also operational in international cities like London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, providing a straightforward way to use public transport without the need to buy tickets in advance. Apple offers an online resource detailing the transit systems that support this feature.
