Starting later this year, CTA and Metra riders with Apple Pay will be able to access their Ventra accounts on their phones to pay for rides on trains and buses, the agencies said.

Apple announced on Monday that users of transit services in Chicago, Portland and New York will be able to use Apple Pay, a contactless payment technology.

CTA spokesman Steve Mayberry explained that riders with Apple Pay will be able to load their Ventra cards onto the Apple Wallet applications on their iPhones. This will enable riders to swipe their phones when entering stations, instead of swiping separate plastic Ventra cards, Mayberry said.

Riders will still use the Ventra app to manage their accounts, Mayberry said. Ventra allows riders to add add value, including pre-tax transit benefit program payments, and buy multi-day passes.

People with Apple Pay can already use a credit card loaded into the Apple Wallet to pay for a CTA ride, but the new feature would incorporate the Ventra card itself into the Wallet. Mayberry said he expects the feature will be ready later this year, though a specific date has not yet been set.

In a joint statement, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Dorval Carter said that having Ventra cards on the iPhone “will build on the strength of the existing Ventra system to make commuting in Chicago even easier and more convenient, and help modernize America’s second largest mass transit system for the 21st century.”

Metra users also will be able to add their Ventra cards to Apple Pay, said Metra spokeswoman Meg Thomas-Reile. This will not affect how riders pay conductors on the train.

“This won’t change anything for us in the way we see payments, but it will put the Ventra app into more people’s hands,” said Thomas-Reile.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago