North America's Busiest Commuter Trains Now Support Apple Pay

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the MTA eTix app for iPhone now supports Apple Pay, enabling commuters to conveniently and securely purchase tickets for New York City's Long Island Railroad and Metro-North Railroad trains.

As of this week, commuters can use Apple Pay to purchase one way, round trip, ten trip, weekly, and CityTickets tickets — as well as monthly passes — through the MTA eTix app, which can be used at all LIRR and Metro-North stations.

mta-lirr

Image Credit: Lionel via The New York Times

"The New York commute just got that much easier thanks to Apple Pay in the MTA eTix app," said Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey. "Now you can skip the line entirely to buy train tickets right on your iPhone."

MTA's Long Island Railroad, operating between Manhattan and the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island, is the busiest commuter train in North America, with an average weekday ridership of over 300,000 passengers.

MTA's Metro-North Railroad, operating between Manhattan and upstate New York, plus parts of southwestern Connecticut, is the second busiest commuter train in North America, with an average weekday ridership of over 285,000 passengers.

MTA eTix, free on the App Store [Direct Link], eliminates the need to stand in line to purchase tickets from a vending machine. Instead, your iPhone serves as your electronic ticket, which you activate before boarding a train.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're officially less than one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Report: Low-Cost iPhone, iPad, MacBook Coming Early 2026

Friday November 21, 2025 2:26 am PST by
Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup. According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a...

Top Rated Comments

djeeyore25 Avatar
119 months ago
Buying tickets through the app is so much easier than through the machines. I can show up 5 minutes before my train leaves and not have to worry about long lines.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mike Oxard Avatar
119 months ago
I spent a weekend in London last month. Transport for London take contactless including Apple Pay on all busses, trains and river busses, you just tap and go, no messing about with tickets. At the end of the day they charge you the lowest rate for all the journeys you made.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tmiw Avatar
119 months ago
The plan is by 2020 they'll accept contactless payments.
Somehow I feel that it'll take longer than that for one reason or other.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
119 months ago
Anyone use this app? Looks genius now if only the LIRR was in time
Yeah I used it 2 weekends ago. It saves your credit card info when you actually buy a ticket. You can't save a card without purchasing first.

The ticket, once activated, is only valid for 2 hours. So don't "Activate" it until you actually are on board or until the conductor gets to you. For security and anti-fraud purposes there's a QR Code and other marquee-like moving images on the screen as a way to validate the ticket.

They don't scan your phone though, they just look at it and keep walking.

It just sucks because I can't put my WageWorks Commuter Card into Wallet because WageWorks doesn't support it yet.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
truthertech Avatar
119 months ago
No, I'm not being a theif if the conductor refuses to come around or collect tickets on my trip. Maybe one of the reasons this happens is cause I'm a student and I'm only taking the train from Mineola to Cold Spring Harbor. That's not stealing, stealing would be one of those ass holes who runs around the train and hides when they actually are collecting tickets... To be clear, I am not the one at fault, it's the conductor, therefore I'm not responsible for not paying.
Ahh, now I understand. The real criminal is the conductor who is preventing you from following the honor system and paying your fare. Shame on him. It's like when a waitress forgets to leave you a check for the meal you ate; it's her fault not yours when you leave without paying. You are in the clear; now what was your question again on how we can help you continue to evade paying your fare?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
119 months ago
How did I not know about this app? Downloading it now !
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)