ATLANTA — MARTA will require customers to use its updated fare payment system beginning this Saturday.
MARTA officials said riders will be required to use the new orange Breeze card, a bank card, mobile wallet or other approved payment methods to ride the system.
The agency said older fare cards will no longer be compatible with the new system once implementation takes effect this weekend.
“The installation of our better Breeze system was not as far along as we’d hoped at the end of the customer transition period on May 2, so for the last several weeks, we have left open gates and doors to ensure riders could easily access the system,” said MARTA Interim General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt. “Now, with the installation of more ticket vending machines systemwide, we feel we’ve made significant enough progress to close these open gates and doors and begin requiring fare.”
MARTA officials said fare gates and validators are being upgraded across the system, with installation taking place in phases ahead of full implementation.
Officials said the updated system is designed to modernize fare collection and improve reliability and the customer experience.
“Old Breeze cards and the old Breeze Mobile 2.0 app do not work on the new Breeze system and are no longer accepted. To transfer your balance from an old Breeze card to a new account, visit breezecard.com," MARTA officials said.
MARTA listed several ways to pay for fares:
Bank card: Tap and go with your credit or debit card directly at fare gates and validators.
Mobile Wallet: Tap and go with your mobile wallet on your smartphone or smartwatch at fare gates and validators.
Breeze card: Purchase a new Breeze card at ticket vending machines (TVMs), Ride Stores, and breezecard.com.
Virtual Breeze card: Purchase a virtual Breeze card in your Apple Wallet, Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet. To access all MARTA fare products, link your virtual Breeze card to your Breeze account at breezecard.com or on the new Breeze Mobile app.
More information is available on MARTA’s website.
