Apple Pay Now Accepted For LIRR, Metro North Commuters

Starting October, commuters in New York can now use Apple Pay and Mastercard's Masterpass to buy their tickets for the very busy Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and Metro North Railroad, reducing the hassle of buying it manually.

According to Engadget, the Metropolitan Transport Agency (MTA) eTix app updated this week to include support for the Apple pay and Mastercard's Masterpass payment systems. Commuters may also use the app to purchase different kinds of MTA tickets like one-way, round trip, and monthly passes.

Originally, the MTA eTix app wasn't going to be fully ready until the end of the year, but the MTA was looking at accelerating its mobile ticketing rollout, with "full system-wide implementation" scheduled for the end of August, cites thetechnews.

For now, the system can be used for the Long Island Railroad and Metro North Railroad - two of New York's busiest railroad lines - but availability for other subway rail systems is not far from happening if the project proves to be a success.

The LIRR stretches from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, Long island and is considered the busiest railroad system in terms of ridership. Meanwhile, the Metro North Railroad comes in as the second busiest rail line in terms of ridership; it runs between New York City and the northern suburbs of New York and Connecticut.

Unfortunately, these updates only apply to the iOS app, according to Engadget. Android users may still use the MTA eTix app on their phones, but commuters will have to jot down their credit card details manually into the app.

Apple Pay is Apple Inc.'s digital wallet service. It lets Apple Pay users make payments by simply using their Apple phones and devices. The service is available for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 plus, and iPhone SE. it also works for the iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, and iPad Mini 3 and Later devices.