The Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority is now selling smartphone-based bus passes for touchless scanning aboard VTA buses. Physical passes also remain available, with purchasing information posted on the VTA website. 

One-day, three-day, seven-day, 31-day and 365-day travel passes can be purchased directly from smartphones at app.vineyardtransit.com. 

If purchased from a computer instead, the passes will be downloadable to the Google Wallet app only from the Chrome browser and to Apple Pay only from the Safari browser.

A Gazette reporter used the system Tuesday, opening the pass in the smartphone application before scanning it with the touchless reader mounted next to the luggage rack.

For the first time, according to the website, 365-day bus passes are activated on the first day of use instead of on Jan. 1.

— Louisa Hufstader