Starting Wednesday, passengers on almost every transit agency in the region will be able to use their credit or debit cards – instead of just prepaid Clipper cards – to pay for all their trips. The move to the Tap and Ride system includes every transit system that used Clipper cards in the past, including Caltrain, the Valley Transportation Authority, AC Transit, SamTrans, Muni, Petaluma Transit, the San Francisco Bay Ferry, SMART train and Golden Gate Transit.
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The move follows a similar change by BART in August. The aim is to ease access to public transport for residents and out-of-town visitors by removing the requirement for many passengers to first purchase Clipper cards at public transport stations and pre-load money on them.“We’re all about getting more people on public transit, and this lowers the barrier to doing so by making paying your fare as easy as buying a cup of coffee,” said Rebecca Long, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The move is part of the ongoing implementation of the Next Generation Clipper system, which will provide other benefits for riders who continue to use their Clipper cards. Some of these changes are expected to be phased in over the coming months, including faster money transfers to Clipper accounts, as well as discounted transfers within the Bay Area’s transit systems.
Passengers should continue to use Clipper cards for certain discounts offered to seniors, youth and people with disabilities, as well as for the Clipper START program that offers half-price fares for low-income Bay Area residents.
Public transport operators hope the changes will increase ridership and encourage more people to consider public transport.
“We simply believe that anything that makes it easier for our customers to ride SamTrans is a benefit to the entire community,” said Randol White, spokesperson for the Sam Mateo County-based transportation agency. “We never want anyone to not board one of our buses because he or she feels like the process of paying and boarding is too complicated.”
Jakob Rodgers is a senior news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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