You can now purchase Sioux Area Metro tickets via cell phone

Sioux Area Metro tickets are now available through mobile devices, city officials said at a Wednesday morning press conference.

Bus riders can use Token Transit, an app available on Apple and android phones, to purchase bus tickets, said General Manager Robert Speeks. The existing ways to pay for bus fare will remain in place, Speeks said.

There's no additional cost to purchase a ticket through the service, Speeks said, although Token Transit will receive 8% of the cost of each fare.

Senior Planner Sam Trebilcock said the change is something that came for the city's push toward innovation throughout departments, and that the eventual goal was that the majority of riders would be using mobile ticketing.

Trebilcock said the mobile ticketing system had actually been in place since earlier this year, with 148 passes sold in January and 214 sold in February.

The move to mobile ticketing is just one of the changes expected to come soon to the city's bus system, which has struggled with ridership retention and issues with hiring drivers.

More:Council approves 'hybrid' plan to reshape Sioux Falls bus system

The Sioux Falls City Council approved the system's transit development plan last month, which proposes removing some of the least-used fixed routes throughout the city while increasing the usage of the system's on-demand bus service.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Area Metro tickets now available through mobile devices