Chicago gets in on Apple Pay Express Transit via Ventra Card

Apple watch Apple Pay (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Chicago now has support for Apple Pay Express Transit.
The feature is now supported by Ventra Card.
It offers quick and easy payments from iPhone and Apple Watch.

Travelers in Chicago can now take advantage of Apple Pay Express Transit after Ventra Card added support for the feature.

Spotted by MacRumors, the feature will now allow users in Chicago to pay for transit more quickly and easily from both iPhone and Apple Watch. Once set up, travelers won't even need to authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID, either.

With your Ventra Card on iPhone and Apple Watch it's easier than ever to get around on CTA and Pace. Just tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for rides using transit value or passes. No fumbling to grab a separate transit card, open apps or even wake your device — it's that easy!And get the same features of a Ventra Card on your iPhone and Apple Watch, including the ability to load and manage transit value and CTA and Pace passes, autoload, pre-tax transit benefits from your employer, account management features in the Ventra app and more!

However, there are caveats – including the fact that a Vantra Card can only be added to one device at a time.

Note: Special fare program cards, such as RTA Reduced Fare, Student Ventra Cards or U-Pass Cards, cannot be added to Apple Wallet at this time. A Ventra Card in Apple Wallet can't be loaded onto more than one device at a time — load it only to the iPhone or Apple Watch you wish to use when you ride

That's less than optimal!

Chicago is the latest big city to get support for Apple Pay Express Transit and it surely won't be the last.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.