TAP cards used by Cal State Long Beach students, staff and faculty for free bus rides with Long Beach Transit will be replaced by a sticker, though current cards will not need to be replaced.
The sticker will be placed on CSULB ID cards and go into effect in the fall 2017 semester.
It is scheduled to become available for distribution on June 19, when Student Orientation, Advising & Registration for the fall 2017 semester begins, in an effort to have the sticker available for new CSULB students.
Current TAP card holders can opt to purchase a TAP sticker for their ID, but will not be required to do so for the foreseeable future, according to Financial Management Associate Vice President Sharon Taylor.
Plans to phase out the current TAP cards have yet to be finalized, but Taylor said that they are unlikely to still be used in four or five years.
“The sticker is fairly small,” Long Beach Transit Public Information Officer Kevin Lee said. “It’s attached to the ID so it’s always associated with you.”
LBT proposed the change to CSULB in order to eliminate the need to carry two cards. The CSULB Parking Advisory Committee, which includes members of ASI, Parking Enforcement and Parking Administration, supported the change.
The change was reported by Associated Students, Inc. Vice President Logan Vournas during an ASI Senate meeting on Feb. 1.
The TAP sticker will cost $5, the same fee for the current TAP card. Vournas said that students who wish to replace a lost ID and purchase a TAP sticker will need to pay $10.
“Whether it’s on a TAP card or a TAP sticker, it’s essentially the same program,” Lee said.
TAP access will continue to be deactivated during the summer if the user is not enrolled in classes or employed by the university during the summer. The sticker will contain a microchip that can disable bus ride access if a student is not currently enrolled.
Like with the TAP card, the TAP sticker program will be funded by parking fees, which also fund the campus shuttles.
Unlike the card, the sticker will feature a design that will be chosen from a pool of student submissions on Feb. 22.