Waymo will issue $2.85 in Waymo Cash to San Francisco Bay Area riders who pair a Waymo trip with a public transit ride paid by Visa tap-to-pay within two hours of each other, the company said this week. The transit rewards program applies across all 27 Bay Area transit agencies that accept contactless Visa, according to Waymo, and opens first to employees before a gradual public rollout in the coming weeks. Waymo says additional cities will follow.
Highlights
- $2.85 in Waymo Cash per qualifying transit connection, which Waymo says matches the cost of a San Francisco bus fare
- 27 Bay Area transit agencies covered, each of which accepts contactless Visa tap-to-pay
- Two-hour window between the Waymo trip and the transit ride to earn the reward
- 40 dedicated Caltrain station parking spaces leased by Waymo to stage vehicles for transit riders
How Does the Waymo Transit Rewards Program Work?
Riders link a Visa card in the Waymo app. When a Bay Area rider uses that card for both a Waymo trip and a public transit fare within two hours of each other, Waymo says it automatically issues $2.85 in Waymo Cash.
The program builds on the regional transfer discount programs and the tap-to-pay fare model introduced across the Bay Area last December. Waymo frames the rewards as a way to make multimodal trips easier as transit agencies modernize their payment systems to accept debit and credit cards at the fare gate.
According to the company, recent surveys indicate that more than 50 percent of Waymo riders in its most mature service areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix already use public transit.
“Governor Newsom has challenged all of us to build a transportation system that meets Californians where they are, and that means making the trip to the station as effortless as the train ride itself,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. “CalSTA welcomes innovations that reward people for choosing transit and make a multimodal trip feel like one seamless journey.”
Caltrain Parking Partnership
Alongside the rewards program, Waymo announced a partnership with Caltrain, which accepts tap-to-pay fares. Waymo will lease 40 dedicated parking spaces at Caltrain stations to stage vehicles closer to transit riders.
The company describes the arrangement as a model it hopes to replicate with additional transit agencies to tighten the connection between its service and public transit.
“San José has always believed innovation should make everyday life work better,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “This partnership does exactly that by using new technology to strengthen public transit, not replace it, making regional travel more seamless and giving people more ways to get where they need to go.”
Built on Earlier Transit Pilots
Waymo positions the launch as the formal product following several pilots. The company cites its transit credit pilot in San Francisco, a similar program in Los Angeles, the addition of Waymo service to the LA Metro Mobility Wallet, and a microtransit partnership with Via in Chandler, Arizona, as the basis for the new program.
The Bay Area effort also follows the $3 transit credit pilot that Waymo ran in San Francisco and the Peninsula in late 2024, and arrives as the company expands Bay Area operations, including autonomous service at San José Mineta International Airport.
“Shared mobility is a team effort, and our autonomous ride-hailing service helps expand clean transportation options for everyone,” said Adam Lenz, Head of Sustainability & Environment at Waymo. “We’re thrilled to partner with local transit agencies to fill multimodal gaps and make daily commutes easier through our new transit rewards program.”
Waymo says its goal is to extend the rewards program and transit agency partnerships to more cities over time.
