TAP LA

TAP LA

About this app

TAP is your ticket to ride transit in greater Los Angeles! It is accepted on 26 transit systems including LA Metro, providing a vast network of buses and trains.

- Make your travel safe and easy with contactless payment and card management.

- Use your Android phone to tap and pay when you board. You don't even have to wake up your phone!

- Purchase a transit pass or Stored Value for any agency in Los Angeles County.


- Enjoy flexible payment options including credit/debit cards, account cash and Google Pay.

- Manage multiple cards in your TAP account.

- Supports reduced fares for seniors, students, persons with disabilities and low-income riders.

- Access multimodal programs such as Metro Bike Share.

- Use Trip Tools to plan trips, find nearby transit options, view real-time arrivals and save favorite destinations and stops.

- Enjoy the benefits of a TAP account, such as Balance Protection, card management, discounts, promotions, transaction history and friendly customer service.

- Accepted on 26 transit systems in LA County including:
Angels Flight Railway
Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA)
Baldwin Park Transit
Beach Cities Transit
Burbank Bus
Carson Circuit
Compton Renaissance Transit System
Culver CityBus
Foothill Transit
Gardena GTRANS
Glendale Beeline
Glendora Transportation Division
Huntington Park Transit Unlimited
LA County Department of Public Works
LADOT Transit
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
Long Beach Transit
Metro
Montebello Bus Lines
Monterey Park Spirit Bus
Norwalk Transit
Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority
Pasadena Transit
Santa Clarita Transit
Torrance Transit

Eligible users should upgrade to Android OS 12 or greater to ensure the best experience.

Ratings and reviews

Miserable app! Not only does it not update bus times like Google maps does but scanning with my phone almost never works! I'll be transferring my funds to a plastic tap card that I know I can trust and use Google maps for my directions. Update: The instructions for this app says you don't even have to wake your phone to use Tap but this is not true at all. Not only does the app have to be running but it has to literally be the active open screen on your phone to work.

Other than looking up the map to find the location of the stops, Trip tools is useless to me. Cannot set a destination stop and have the app tells you when you are there riding on the bus. Cannot measure the time between the two stops and distance. Also loading the stored value on the card require two steps, goes to pending then to stored on first tap. Also the Reduced fare card has to be physical card only, cannot be activated on the phone. App is primitive. Need to be evolved in usefulness.

It's a little janky, but if you need a functioning bus card fast it's the best option. Scans may take a few tries (I've never needed more than two) but typically transfers are quick. Also loading money on it gets you available credit almost immediately, so this was helpful for an emergency where I forgot my card. Never bothered with the trip tools, I use an app called Transit + Google maps instead.

What's new

Default language - en-US
- Glendale Beeline pass is now available
- Trip Tools improvements