The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is accelerating its expansion of the number of stations where Clipper is the only fare product available for purchase.
Since August of 2019, BART has eliminated the sales of paper tickets at five stations (19th Street/Oakland, Embarcadero, Powell Street, Downtown Berkeley and San Francisco International Airport).
Accelerating this effort will help to create a more contactless and sanitary system in the era of COVID-19. One or more stations per week will be converted to primarily Clipper sales with the reusable, reloadable and regionally accepted Clipper card as the main fare product available for purchase. More than 91 percent of customers currently use Clipper.
At stations with parking, one ticket machine will be available for customers who need to purchase a paper ticket to validate parking.
BART will schedule the stations each month and update the schedule monthly. The following stations will be converted in June:
- Week of June 8 Dublin/Pleasanton Station
- Week of June 15 Coliseum and Oakland International Airport stations
- Week of June 22 Montgomery Street Station
- Week of June 29 Civic Center Station
As shelter-in-place orders begin to lift and customers return to the system, BART says it is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Using Clipper helps this effort by allowing riders to avoid direct contact with fare gates, as the card only needs to be held over the fare gate card reader without touching. Riders can further protect themselves from contact with fare machines by loading funds onto their Clipper card online, allowing up to one day for the balance to post. For registered users, the autoload feature will automatically replenish their Clipper balance.
While paper tickets will no longer be available for purchase at these stations, riders will still be able to use paper tickets to enter or exit through fare gates. Riders will also be able to add enough fare to a paper ticket to exit the station using add fare machines located inside the paid area.
BART is also moving to a Clipper-only fare payment system because the region has prioritized the use of Clipper as the Bay Area’s all-in-one transit card administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. In addition to being contactless, Clipper has many advantages over paper tickets:
- Clipper saves money. Adult paper tickets have a 50-cent surcharge on every trip, which equals $1.00 per round trip. With a one-time acquisition fee of $3.00 for a Clipper card, it pays for itself in just 3 roundtrips.
- Clipper is reusable and long-lasting, unlike paper tickets that get worn and tattered.
- Clipper is accepted by nearly all transit agencies in the region. Many other agencies offer discounted fares when using Clipper.
- Riders can set up their Clipper card account to reload automatically.
- The loaded value on the Clipper card is secure when it’s registered. If you lose the card, the balance can be replaced for a nominal fee.
- The tag in and out system allows Clipper card users to move through fare gates faster.
- Clipper cards can be purchased at every BART station and at many retail outlets throughout the region.
- Paper tickets can jam our fare gates, so Clipper usage means more open fare gates, shorter lines and less fare gate maintenance.
- Clipper usage reduces the paper waste of the magstripe tickets in the BART system.
Customers can use Clipper anonymously. Clipper cards do not require registration. Registration is required for added benefits such as autoload and balance protection.
