LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — Using public transportation in Northeast Ohio gets easier Tuesday. Laketran riders can now purchase bus passes at over 70 retail stores throughout the county by adding cash to their EZfare account.
Eight counties use the EZfare app, which is a cashless app option for riders. You can simply load your credit card or bank information into the app to buy bus or train passes. But now it’s even easier to use for those who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards.
Riders can now preload cash on the app from many national chains, including Family Dollar, Dollar General, CVS Pharmacy, 7 Eleven, Speedway, Sheetz, Walgreens and Walmart.
Riders can go to the counter at the above-mentioned stores, have the cashier scan a bar code on your phone’s app and give them the amount of cash you want to be added to your pass, and it’s automatically uploaded.
“You know, this is part of a long-term vision, at least for Laketran, that would eliminate the actual fare box on the bus,” said Ben Capelle, CEO of Laketran. “Those are very expensive pieces of equipment. They cost roughly $20,000 apiece. And when you think about, you know, we have one hundred and forty busses, that's a lot of money to replace them.”
The EZfare app is available in Lake, Summit, Stark, Medina and Portage counties using the PARTA, SARTA, Akron Metro RTA and MCPT.
Cleveland’s RTA is not part of the program.
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