Approximately 8.6 million vehicle miles (approximately 18% of the total possible vehicle miles) were avoided in 2007 because employees used an alternate mode of transportation, worked at home, or had a compressed work schedule. Would you like to contribute?
Online and in-person options make bus fare purchasing simple and easy for customers. Passes are available at ValleyMetro.org and at many fare outlets across the Valley. It is importatnt to note that the purchased bus or rail pass is not activated for the purchased time period until it is used in a bus or rail station farebox. Passes remain valid even if they are not activated for months after purchase. When the pass is activated, the farebox will automatically stamp it with an expiration date.
Using a pass is as easy as can be - a passenger merely swipes it through a slot on top of the farebox when boarding a bus or they may swipe it on the orange pad located on the front of the transit vending machines located at the light rail stations. The farebox will chime, indicating a valid pass, and the passenger is ready to go. An activated pass gives its holder unlimited bus/light rail travel during its designated time period.
Riders looking for express bus routes should use the online trip planner or use the bus book to look at 3-digit routes that begin with the number “5” – Route 573, for example. Express routes generally bring passengers from suburbs into the downtown corridor, but a few connect major work centers that are not downtown. The RAPID is an express bus system run by the City of Phoenix on four freeway routes – I-10 East, I-10 West, SR-51, and I-17. These buses also bring passengers from outlying communities into downtown. All Express & RAPID schedules are available at ValleyMetro.org.
Valley Metro supports those who want to combine bus and bike travel for their commutes. Two riders can simply mount their bikes on the bus or light rail, free of charge. Please see the Bike section for tips on safely using the bike-on-bus racks.
The Platinum Pass program is a great way to support your employees’ commuting efforts. Any company* with good credit (*must have at least 20 transit riders) can enter into an agreement with the City of Phoenix to pay for employee transit fares. It’s convenient for the commuter and easy for the company. The City issues the Platinum Pass, “smart cards” to the TC, who distributes them to company’s transit riders. The employees pay their fare by simply tapping their cards on the orange farebox located in the bus or on the light rail platform transit vending machine…just tap…and go! Card numbers are recorded, and the company receives a monthly invoice with the total charge on each card. Depending on the particular arrangement it has set up, the company can then use the invoice to recover some or all of the purchased fares from the employee.