Starting in August, Butler Transit Authority commuter bus passengers will be able to buy passes and load their ConnectCards with credits using a mobile ticketing app.

Authority board members Tuesday unanimously voted to buy five wireless transmitters for each of the commuter buses for $300 each from Token Transit of San Francisco, which will keep 10 percent of the cost of the pass purchases to operate the mobile ticketing system.

“Basically it’s a mobile app for ticketing,” said John Paul, authority executive director.

After downloading the app to their mobile phones, passengers will be able to buy passes. They then tap the pass that appears on their phones and pass their phone over the transmitters, which will be marked with green stickers, when they board buses. Phones with passes displayed will beep when they are passed over the transmitters.

“We’re very excited we’re going to be able to offer this to our passengers,” Paul said.

The existing system takes 24 to 36 hours to load credits on to ConnectCards causing some passengers to have two cards so they can always have one loaded, he said.

“People have to load a ticket and wait 24 to 36 hours to use it,” Paul said.

He said the new system also will provide the authority with ridership data.

The new system will be promoted in the authority’s fall advertising campaign, he said.