BC Transit's new digital fare system rolls out in Kamloops

BC Transit’s new digital fare payment system is now available in Kamloops.

Umo (pronounced “you-mo”) was announced in January 2022 and rolled out in the Victoria transit system last summer.

The system includes new payment options including the Umo Mobility app and a reloadable Umo card.

The app allows transit users to create an account where they can purchase and manage their fare products.

All you have to do is open the app and scan a QR code on the new onboard validators that have been installed on buses throughout the city.

Riders alternatively have the choice of using a reloadable Umo card, which are available for free from a BC Transit Umo vendor.

The cards can be continually topped up with fare products through a vendor, online at ca.umopass.com, or through Umo’s customer service call centre at 877-380-8181.

With the Umo cards, all you do is tap it on the validator and you’re good to go.

A list of BC Transit Umo fare vendors are listed at bctransit.com/kamloops/fares/where-to-buy.

Changes to other fare options

The arrival of the new digital fare options includes some changes to other fare options.

The 30-day pass, which will eventually replace the existing Monthly Pass, can be activated any day of the month and is valid during a continuous 30-day period.

Cash Balance, an alternative to cash and eventually replacing those 10-pack bus tickets, is a pre-paid dollar amount loaded to the Umo app or reloadable card, which riders draw from as trips are taken.

“Riders paying with a Cash Balance fare product will have their fare capped and automatically converted to a DayPASS after payment on their second trip of the day,” BC Transit says.

“This means regardless of a rider’s chosen Umo payment method, a rider will never pay more than two times the value of a cash fare for unlimited daily travel in the Kamloops transit system.”

BC Transit has yet to confirm the final date to purchase Monthly Passes and the 10 Ticket fare, but they plan on giving riders several months to transition to the Umo payment method.

For those who don’t have easy or readily available access to a cell phone will still be able to pay cash, however.