Getting around the Bay Area by transit is about to become simpler, cheaper, and more convenient. Starting December 10th, transit agencies are rolling out Clipper 2.0, replacing the decades-old Clipper Card with a modern and effective fare payment system.
How you’ll benefit:
- You will get free (up to $2.85 off) transfers between agencies: each time you transfer to another transit agency, you will get the discount equivalent to a bus fare
- Tap in to transit with your credit or debit card: Riders will be able to pay for transit with their contactless credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Wallet. This is especially useful for travellers and occasional riders who might not have a Clipper card or their Clipper card always with them.
Riders who use employee transit benefits, monthly passes, and BART High Volume Discount tickets will still need to use a physical Clipper card.
Free transfers?!
That’s right: For example, if you take Muni to BART or Caltrain, that train trip will get a $2.85 discount to reflect the fare you just paid for your bus. If you take one bus to another bus, say, VTA to AC Transit, the AC Transit trip is free..
This is revolutionary for riders: no more fare penalty for living just a little bit too far away from BART or Caltrain. For example, a rider taking AC Transit to BART to Muni can save $5.20 on a one-way trip from Oakland to San Francisco.
Or, a rider taking Muni to BART to Caltrain can save $5.70 on a trip from their home in the Inner Sunset to their job in downtown Palo Alto.
The Transbay Coalition and Seamless Bay Area have put together a Clipper 2.0 Savings Calculator to help you learn how much you can save on your commutes or other trips that use multiple agencies.
Plus AC Transit is launching free transfers between local buses – the first transfer from a local bus to another local bus will be free.
Join us to celebrate cheaper regional transit
Hiking by Transit is hosting a celebratory multi-agency trip to Mount Tamalpais State Park on December 14th to celebrate. Join us there! »
How can I get these benefits?
Clipper 2.0 launches on December 10th. On that day, you’ll be able to start using your credit or debit card to pay adult fares for transit, and get free transfers with it. Clipper users with Youth, Senior/RTC, and START cards will have their cards automatically upgraded within the first 1-2 weeks, and every Clipper user will have their card upgraded within 8-12 weeks.
If you don’t want to wait, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission says the Clipper Card website will be upgraded with a feature to request your card be updated as soon as possible.
To be notified when you can request a Clipper 2.0 upgrade, sign up for the Transbay Coalition mailing list, where we’ll let you know as soon as it launches!
What’s left to be done
When Clipper 2.0 rolls out, people eligible for Youth, Senior/RTC, or START discounts cannot yet get these discounts when paying with a credit/debit card. MTC has said they plan to offer the ability to link your credit/debit card to your discount, but do not yet have a scheduled date for this.
This means that people in the most financially precarious situations will be left storing their transit money on Clipper cards, while others benefit from not having to do so. Other contactless payment systems around the state already allow riders to link their credit and debit cards to get their discount directly. For more about how Clipper 2.0 falls short of the equity and fairness that we need now more than ever, and Transbay Coalition remains committed to working with our allies to get this fixed.
Read Transform’s new report on Fair and Accessible Fares for details.