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Pay As You Go

This option will allow riders to pay for as little as one trip at a time, rather than paying for a monthly/annual transit pass up front. Riders pay for each trip when it is made, up to the fare cap for the daily or monthly period.

Riders can pay as they go either by loading their Arc card, or using the tap to pay feature.

Tap to Pay

Transit just got easier! You can now tap to pay with a physical or digital credit or debit card

Transit riders across the Edmonton region (Edmonton, Beaumont, Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove, St. Albert, Strathcona County and soon Leduc) can now pay for transit by directly tapping a physical or digital credit or debit card on an Arc validator. Just take out your card, tap the validator and go!

Payment types accepted

Riders can now tap on and tap off using a physical or digital debit or credit card for their fare payment. However, if you prefer, you can continue to use your Arc card or tickets, or pay your bus fare with cash. You can tap to pay with these payment types:

  • Mastercard credit and debit
  • Visa credit and debit
  • Interac Debit
  • American Express
  • Google Wallet
  • Apple Pay
  • Samsung Wallet

Get the best fare rate by tapping the same card, every time you ride

Make sure to use the same payment method (card or device) consistently to benefit from daily and monthly fare caps. Each payment method will have its own fare cap, so be sure to use the same card or device every time—whether it’s your Arc card, digital or physical credit or debit card—to ensure you get the best rate. Only pay for transit when and how you need it.

Use a physical or digital card—but pick one and use it consistently

Physical and digital versions of the same card are considered to be two different cards, and will have separate fare caps.

Before tapping, separate your payment card from other cards in your wallet or phone case. Tapping your whole wallet on a fare validator could result in an error.

Apply for your student, senior or low-income fare concession

If you have a concession applied to your Arc card (like a youth, senior or low-income fare profile), you’ll need to re-apply the concession to your credit or debit card in your myArc.ca account in order to get the reduced fare cap. Here’s how:

First, you have to associate the payment card to your account by following these steps:

  • Tap your physical credit or debit card on an Arc validator at least once to pay for transit.
  • Log in to myArc.ca and click “MyArc” on the heading bar. From the MyArc menu, click Add/Enter New Contactless Credit/Debit Card.
  • When prompted, enter a Card Nickname for the debit/credit card, the full card number, and click “Submit.”

Second, apply the concession to your account:

  • Log in to your Arc account and select “My Account” from the top menu. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click the “Apply for Concession” button.
  • Select the credit/debit card you want to use. Click continue, then Apply for New Concession by selecting your fare profile.
  • Review the concession name and the Arc card number, and click “Submit.”

You will receive an email from Arc Transit Call Centre confirming your application for the youth, student or low-income concession (also known as “fare profile”) is complete.