Come Aug. 1, you can leave your CharlieCard at home if you like. The MBTA said Tuesday its new payment system allowing subway and bus riders to tap their smartphones or credit cards to pay fares will debut then.
The long awaited new payment method is more than six years in the making and part of a larger new fare collection system that will eventually include commuter rail lines and ferries.
“Transitioning to this contactless system is a part of the next generation of transportation that our riders deserve,” said Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt in a statement. “This will allow them to save time and make it easier for riders and travelers to pay and board as they use the system.”
Boston will soon join cities from New York to Rome to Johannesburg utilizing the easier-to-use fare collection system.
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The new contactless payment system was supposed to replace the MBTA’s old fare collection system by 2021 under a more than $700 million contract with San Diego-based Cubic Corp. and United Kingdom-based financier John Laing. But technological glitches with the Cubic fare readers and other problems, in 2020, pushed back implementation and raised the cost of the project to nearly $1 billion.
The rollout of the first phase of the system this summer is an important milestone, general manager Phillip Eng said previously, as the agency works with Cubic to develop the rest of its features. The total amount the T owes for the system will shrink from $967 million to $926 million, the agency said Thursday, thanks to a recent restructuring of the contract to account for delays.
“Last year this project needed a course correction and I’m proud of the progress made to deliver this important amenity for our riders, bringing our payment system for our bus and subway system into the 21st century,” he said in a statement.
Come Aug. 1, riders will be able to tap a credit card or phone to board buses, the Green Line, and the Mattapan Trolley. Previously, the T had said Mattapan Trolley riders would need to wait until the end of the year for the feature.
Riders can look for the fare reader at the fare gate or vehicle door, tap their card or device, and wait for the green checkmark, the T said. All-door boarding on buses, which is expected to speed up travel, will be coming at a later date, T spokesperson Lisa Battiston said.
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On buses, the Green Line, and the Mattapan Trolley, the T said riders should hold their bags away from the fare readers to avoid the possibility of accidental taps and charges.
Riders who are part of a reduced fare program can link their benefits to their new fare payment method at Charlie.mbta.com, by calling the Customer Support Center at 617-222-3200, or by visiting the Charlie Service Center.
The T is in the process of hiring 16 fare engagement officers who will start interacting with riders of buses and the Green Line by early winter, the agency said previously. Later, the officers will begin writing tickets for people who have not paid fares. The citations will start with a written warning, then escalate to $50 for the second, third, and fourth offenses, then $100 for the fifth and any subsequent offenses within a three-year period.
The next phase, which the T said will be rolled out next spring, will include new CharlieCards and new vending machines for people who don’t have credit cards or smartphones, or simply prefer the existing system. Paying via cash on board will also remain an option.
By the spring of 2026, the T said, riders will also be able to use their credit cards and phones to board commuter rail trains and ferries.
At the same time, the T is launching its $1 billion new fare collection system, as the cost of its backlog of needed infrastructure upgrades nears $25 billion. Last month, the T’s board of directors approved a five-year budget for construction projects that leaves more than $11 billion worth of needs, like station repairs and new train cars, without funding.
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The agency’s day-to-day budget needs — for wages, benefits, debt on construction projects, fuel, the commuter rail operations contract, and more — are equally strained. The T is having to drain its entire rainy day fund to fill its budget gap for the fiscal year that started on July 1 after budget proposals from Governor Maura Healey and the Legislature provided hundreds of millions of dollars less than what the agency needed. That gap is expected to grow to around $700 million for the fiscal year that starts next July.
This story has been updated to clarify that the T said all-door boarding on buses will begin at a later date.
Taylor Dolven can be reached at taylor.dolven@globe.com. Follow her @taydolven.