This story first appeared on KQED.
Clipper, the electronic fare-payment system accepted by all of the Bay Area’s approximately two dozen transportation agencies, is rolling out new features this month that are designed to save riders money and modernize how they pay for transit.
“Next-generation Clipper” arrives Tuesday, with perks such as discounted transfers, the option to pay with a contactless credit or debit card and instant availability of funds added to accounts.
But if you’re already using a Clipper card to travel around the bay, what do you need to know? Keep reading to learn how to take advantage of these new features as soon as possible.
What is “next-generation” Clipper?
Features of these new Clipper cards include:
Instant availability of added funds
No matter how you add money to your Clipper card, those funds will be available immediately with next-generation Clipper. Previously, users who added funds to their physical plastic card online or via the Clipper app have often waited several days before the new funds showed up on their account.
Paying with contactless credit or debit card
Bay Area transit riders have been able to use a chip-enabled credit or debit card to pay for BART since August, but beginning Tuesday, all Bay Area transit agencies that accept Clipper (AC Transit, Caltrain, Golden Gate Ferry, Golden Gate Transit, VTA, the list goes on …) will now also accept chip-enabled credit or debit cards as a form of payment — as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay on mobile.
Free or discounted transfers
Riders transferring from one transit agency to another will receive a discount of up to $2.85 on their second ride, and any subsequent rides with any transit agency — as long as that ride happens within two hours of the first ride. For example, if you transfer from SolTrans to BART, the fare for your BART ride would be $2.85 less than you would pay with the current version of Clipper.
New family accounts
Users will be able to manage multiple registered Clipper cards through one account. This means, for example, a parent could add funds to their child’s Clipper card.
Apply for youth or senior cards online
Riders will now have the option to apply for these discounted programs online, instead of just in person or over the phone.
If I already have a Clipper Card, what do I need to do differently?
You can continue to use your current Clipper card as normal — but if you want to access the new features as soon as possible, you should manually start the upgrade process for your existing card.
This is because it may take eight to 12 weeks for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to update users’ cards, according to John Goodwin, a spokesperson for the MTC.
Goodwin said there are approximately 5 million Clipper cards in circulation, and the commission will do the upgrade in batches. That means that without taking action to upgrade first, some existing Clipper users could wait months for the new features to take effect.
So how can you upgrade your Clipper card? Goodwin advises Clipper users to initiate the upgrade to next-generation Clipper by logging in to clippercard.com or by calling Clipper’s customer service center at 877-878-8883 to start the upgrade process.
“ If you want to be in ‘boarding group A’ on the next generation of Clipper, that’s the way to do it,” Goodwin advises.
If I already have a Clipper Card, do I need to use Clipper 2.0?
It’s not mandatory to initiate your next-generation Clipper upgrade early, as above.
But whether you do or not, eventually, your Clipper will be automatically upgraded to the new version.
How will I know if my card has been upgraded to Clipper 2.0?
The easiest way to check on the status of your Clipper card is to call Clipper customer service at 877-878-8883 and ask whether your card has been upgraded.
And if you’re told that it hasn’t been, that’s when you can ask the customer service agent you’re speaking with to go ahead and initiate the process. But Goodwin also advised that there is another way to find out.
“When tapping a Clipper card that has been upgraded, the card reader on buses and light rail vehicles, at ferry terminals, and on train platforms will simply show ‘TRAVEL OK’ without the card balance,” Goodwin said.
A Clipper card that has not been upgraded will still show an account balance, something like “BALANCE 19.75,” according to Goodwin.
The only exception to this will be the new BART faregates, which don’t display card balances at all, Goodwin said.
How much will I save with discounted transfers?
You can estimate how much money you’ll save with discounted transfers from next-generation Clipper using this independent transit calculator created by Evan Tschuy of the website Hiking by Transit.
For example, a next-generation Clipper trip that uses three transit agencies, beginning with AC Transit, then transferring to BART, and then Muni, saves riders $5.20 per trip compared to the standard Clipper. The calculator estimates that a person who made that trip as part of their regular commute would save $2,600 over a year with the next-generation Clipper.
“ When the system works that way, it feels like the system is thinking about the customer,” said Adina Levin, Executive Director of the Bay Area transit advocacy nonprofit Seamless Bay Area, which advocated for discounted transfers in next-generation Clipper. “We want the public transit system to not just be moving trains back and forth, or moving buses back and forth, but helping people get to where it is that they want to go.”
Are there any drawbacks to paying with a credit or debit card instead of a next-generation Clipper card?
Yes, if you receive a discount on fares as a student, a person with disabilities, or a senior, you’ll still need to use your Clipper card to receive that price reduction. Riders who pay with a credit or debit card will be charged a full adult fare.
“ We urge those customers to continue to use Clipper cards just as they have in the past. That way, those folks will get the discounts that they deserve,” Goodwin said.
Adina Levin with Seamless Bay Area said her group plans to continue advocating for the MTC to make those discounts available to qualifying riders who also want to pay by credit or debit card.
“ We want this convenience to be available to anyone, and not having it available to people who get discounts is insufficiently fair,” Levin said.
People who pay with a credit or debit card will still get transfer discounts, the same as next-generation Clipper card users.
How can transit agencies afford to offer discounts on transfers?
It’s true that Bay Area transit agencies like BART and Muni are facing budget deficits set to balloon to more than $300 million in the next fiscal year.
Transit officials say offering discounted transfers is expected to increase ridership and revenue for transit agencies.
“Our expectation is that transit agencies won’t [lose money], but we’ll just have to wait for the numbers to come in,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin added that the transit officials are treating discounted transfers as a pilot program, which will be reviewed after 18 to 24 months.
What future upgrades might be coming to Clipper?
The MTC said other features like paying for paratransit with Clipper, mobile group tickets that enable groups of people to pay for their fares using just one phone, and transit agency promotions with discounted fares are all in the works.
There is, however, no set date for the launch of those features yet.
