CLEVELAND — Riding the bus in Northeast Ohio just got easier - and faster.
The EZfare App is now up and running in eight Ohio counties, using 13 different transit systems.
In Northeast Ohio, riders can use the cashless app when riding with PARTA, SARTA, Laketran, MCPT and Metro RTA.
“It just changes the game," Claudia Amrherin, the general manager for PARTA, said.
To use the app, download it from the Apple or Google app store, choose the transit system you want to use, buy the fare and then show the QR code to the bus driver.
"It's going to be very unique and exciting because you can get online and purchase all transit passes in one place," Katherine Conrad, the director of client services for NEORide, said.
The app will also allow riders to purchase tickets for multiple transit systems, making crossing county lines easier. Riders will no longer have to maintain multiple bus passes.
“If you want to get from Portage County to Stark County you'd have to go through Summit County and then you'd have to continually get different passes. This way you can get on one app and have all your passes in one easy place," Conrad said.
Dawn Distler, the executive director for METRO RTA, said this app has been used in other parts of the country and it was time to bring it to Ohio.
"We have to evolve," Distler said. "We have to make it easy to ride the bus, we have to make it so it's fun, that it's something that people choose to do, not just have to do."
CLICK HERE for more information about the EZfare app.
