On October 15, OCTA launched Wave, a new fare payment system that makes riding public transportation simpler, faster, and more flexible for everyone in Orange County.
With Wave, riders have more choices than ever before. They can use a reloadable Wave smart card, the Wave mobile app, or contactless payments such as credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. This upgrade builds on the evolution of OCTA’s fare systems over the past two decades from magnetic stripe cards to mobile ticketing to onboard validators equipped to read the OC Bus mobile app. With Wave, the existing validators have been upgraded with state-of-art-technology to accept contactless payments directly, including Wave cards, bank cards with tap-to-pay technology, and mobile wallets.
The Wave app offers real-time reloads, account management, and the ability to store multiple cards on one device. Riders who prefer to use cash may continue to do so, either by paying exact change on board or by adding funds to their Wave account at participating retail locations.
OCTA is distributing Wave cards while supplies last that can be used for free rides through October 31.
For more information about Wave, visit here.