METRO Q Card

The METRO Q Card is a contactless smart card used to ride on public transportation in Greater Houston. It was developed by Affiliated [Computer Services], and administered by the Metropolitan [Transit Authority of Harris County]. The card can be used on METRO Bus, METRORail, and METROLift. The cards are based upon the MIFARE Classic 1K standard and are freely available but expire.
In December 2025 Metro introduced the new Ride Metro card, which functions the same way as the Q card but gives out only a free local ride per 10 paid ones. It previously was five free per 50.