Marin transit agencies encourage riders to use 50% fare discount program

As a transit fare discount program for low-income riders continues to expand across the Bay Area, Marin operators say they hope to boost participation in the county.

“It’s a great program and we’re hoping that more people become aware of it and take advantage of it,” said Ron Downing, planning director for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. The district manages Golden Gate Ferry and Golden Gate Transit.

The program called Clipper START is led by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Last week, officials announced the program has expanded to include Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light-rail and buses.

MTC also announced a uniform 50% discount for all participating bus, ferry and train systems, rather than offering a range between 20% and 50%, when the program was launched in 2020.

It first started as an 18-month program to allow lower-income adults ages 19 to 64 to receive big fare discounts after officials saw the COVID-19 pandemic force major decline in ridership.

In addition to the Golden Gate Ferry and Golden Gate Transit, Muni, Caltrain and BART were among the first participants. The program, which has been extended through June 30, 2025, has expanded twice to include SMART, Marin Transit, Sonoma County Transit and many other services.

Golden Gate Ferry, Golden Gate Transit, SMART and Marin Transit decided to opt for the 50% discount from the start.

“Since the inception of the program, we’ve actually carried 34,728 riders on the Golden Gate Transit bus and almost 7,000 riders on the Golden Gate Ferry,” Downing said of Clipper START users. “That sounds like an impressive number. On a daily basis though, it’s much more modest.”

Golden Gate Transit has recorded 33 round trips by Clipper START users on the average weekday and 10 round trips on the average weekend, Downing said. For the ferry, there is an average of about six or seven round trips on the weekday and even fewer on the weekend, he said.

Overall, it represents less than 1% of the district’s ridership, Downing said.

Riders who qualify for the discount must be Bay Area residents and have a wage that is no more than twice the federal poverty level — for example, $60,000 year for a family of four. Riders who receive other discounts, such as those for people with disabilities, are not eligible.

Downing said one barrier is that the application requires riders to provide identification, and not all low-income residents are comfortable doing that.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit reports a similar experience.

“Participation in the Clipper START program has grown steadily but has remained low overall,” said Julia Gonzalez, spokesperson for SMART. “For SMART, Clipper START boardings represent less than 1% of our ridership.”

In November, SMART had the highest level of Clipper START users with 665 riders, which is equivalent to 1% of total boardings, Gonzalez said.

Since the launch of the program there have been more than 10,000 Clipper START boardings on SMART, she said.

“Any service that facilitates the access to public transit and improves mobility options is something we support,” Gonzalez said.

For Marin Transit, Clipper START users represent 0.2% of total riders and 2% of Clipper users, said Robert Betts, the agency’s director of operations and service development.

Like the SMART and Golden Gate services, Marin Transit advertises the Clipper START program in its vehicles, on its website and on social media.

“We support discounted fare programs for those in need of additional financial assistance,” Betts said.

In addition to Clipper START, Marin Transit has a highly discounted base fare of $2, a monthly unlimited pass program at $40 a month and partnerships with social service agencies countywide that offer free transit to their clients, Betts said.

“We are excited to expand discounted offerings with the Clipper 2.0 release later this year, which will offer additional payment options and new discounts for our riders,” Betts said.

“Clipper START is an important tool that helps bridge the gap toward more affordable transit for those who most need that access,” said Andrew Fremier, MTC’s executive director. “The transit agencies’ adoption of a blanket 50 percent discount demonstrates their seriousness about making transportation more equitable for more people across the Bay Area.”

More information on registration is at clipperstartcard.com.