Gainesville residents looking to buy bus passes won’t have to use cash anymore.
Regional Transit System, Gainesville’s bus system, started accepting credit cards Monday at the Rosa Parks Downtown Station, located at 700 SE Third St. MasterCard and Visa credit cards and debit cards can be used, Chip Skinner, the department marketing and communications supervisor for RTS, wrote in an email.
MasterCard and Visa are the only cards being accepted at the time, he said, because other credit card companies charge higher percentages per transaction.
Skinner said RTS has wanted to offer credit card payment for a few years.
“It is a simple swipe-and-sign transaction like any other retail business,” Skinner said.
Credit cards will also be accepted at the Butler Plaza Transfer Station once it opens and staff members are hired, he said. Skinner said he expects that to happen in the coming months.
James Williams, 20, buys monthly RTS bus passes and said he is glad he can now use his Visa debit card if needed.
“If I was at the station and forgot cash and needed a bus, being able to pay with my card would be cool,” Williams said. “That way I wouldn’t be stranded there.”
