Apple Pay is coming to transit systems in major US cities later this year

Being able to pay for things like subways and buses with your phone just makes sense, but in much of the U.S., you still need a paper ticket or an oh-so-losable reloadable card if you want a ride.

At its big press event this morning, Apple announced that transit systems in a few major U.S. cities are picking up support for Apple Pay, allowing you to tap your phone or Apple Watch to pay for your ride.

Details were light, but Apple confirmed that transit systems in New York City, Chicago and Portland would play friendly with Apple Pay starting later this year.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Apple Pay pick up compatibility with transit; support went live in Beijing and Shanghai, for example, nearly a year ago. Still, more cities is a great thing, if only because it makes it that much easier to figure out the transit system when you land somewhere new.