Using a GoTo Card

Link a GoTo Card

About GoTo Cards

The HOURCAR app is the recommended way to access cars, but your GoTo card is a great alternative if you don’t have access to a smartphone or just as a backup for the app. You’ll use a short swipe (1-3 seconds) to start, pause, and resume your trip, and a long swipe (5-10 seconds) to end your trip. At the end of your trip, please be sure to continue holding the card over the reader, even after you hear the doors lock, until you see yellow and green lights.

To avoid problems, it is best that you use one access method per trip if possible, and don’t switch between using the app and the GoTo card mid-trip.

GoTo Cards Cannot Pay for HOURCAR or Evie trips

Your GoTo Card’s value cannot be used to pay for Evie or HOURCAR costs. It’s simply a card that is linked to your account, allowing you to begin, pause, and end trips via RFID technology and without the smartphone app.

Adding a GoTo Card

To add a GoTo card, visit our website and submit the form. If you have already linked your GoTo card, or requested one with HOURCAR, then the card will work for both Evie and HOURCAR services.

If you have the HOURCAR app and a Metro Transit Card GoTo card on your account, please use one method throughout your trip, as errors increase when both are used interchangeably during the same trip. If you lost your GoTo card and need a replacement, email us at info@HOURCAR.org so we know to remove your lost card and send you a replacement.

If you lose your GoTo Card or get a new card, contact us immediately to keep your account secure. Your trips will only start with a linked card, so make sure you know which card is linked and where the card is located.

Starting Your Trip

To begin your trip, hold your Metro Transit GoTo Card over the GoTo Card Reader in the windshield until the yellow light blinks, a short swipe of 1-3 seconds. Move your card away once the light is blinking, and you will hear the doors unlock, meaning your trip has started.

If the reader shows no lights at the start of your trip, the car is asleep. Your swipe may take a bit longer as the car wakes up, and you still can move your card away once the yellow light starts blinking.

Pausing and Resuming Your Trip

To pause your trip, put your vehicle in park and turn off the ignition. Exit the car and close the doors.

Swipe your GoTo Card on the GoTo Card Reader (1-3 seconds) until the yellow light starts to blink. You should hear the doors lock once your trip has paused.

To resume your trip, hold your GoTo Card over the GoTo Card Reader for 1-3 seconds until the yellow light blinks and your HOURCAR unlocks.

Ending Your Trip

When you’re back at the hub and ready to end your trip, turn the car off.

• If a keyed vehicle, return the key to the holder in the glovebox. If there is a blue LED light still on in the glovebox, the key is not properly returned. Please try again.

Exit the vehicle and close the doors.

Hold your GoTo Card over the GoTo Card Reader until the yellow light starts to blink, then continue to hold your card there until you see the green light. This will be a long swipe of 5-7 seconds. The green and yellow lights mean your trip has ended successfully.

Your end trip swipe will also lock the doors of the car. You can distinguish your end trip from a stopover by seeing the green and yellow light simultaneously; this only happens when your trip has ended successfully. Always double check that the doors are locked before walking away from your HOURCAR. You will receive an email within 3 minutes of a successful trip end detailing your journey.

A quick guide to the lights on the card reader:

Light Color	Meaning
No Lights	The car is asleep. Your start or resume trip command may take longer than usual to go through while the car wakes up.
Solid Yellow	The car is reserved. This is what you'll see when you arrive for your reservation and throughout the duration of your trip.
Blinking Yellow	The reader has registered your swipe. Move your card away at this time if you are starting, pausing, or resuming your trip. If ending, continue to hold the card near the reader.
Green & Yellow	The trip has ended successfully.
Green	The car is available for reservations. You'll see this on a car that is not currently reserved or a few minutes after a trip had ended.
Red	The card swiped is not associated with the reservation, you have an ongoing trip with a different vehicle, or an error has occurred.