Transit agencies across Bay Area to begin accepting credit, debit cards

Paying for bus, train and ferry rides across the Bay Area just became a little easier.

Beginning Wednesday, riders on nearly every transit agency in the region will be able to use their credit or debit cards — rather than just pre-paid Clipper cards — to pay for all of their trips. The switch to the Tap and Ride system includes every transit system that had 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.

The move follows a similar change by BART in August. The goal is to ease access to transit for residents and out-of-town visitors, by doing away with a requirement for many riders to first purchase Clipper cards at transit stations and pre-load money onto them.

“We’re all about getting more people onto transit, and this lowers the barrier to doing so by making fare payment as easy as buying a cup of coffee” said Rebecca Long, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.”

The switch is part of the ongoing implementation of the Next Generation Clipper system, which will include other benefits for riders who continue to use their Clipper cards. Some of those changes are expected to be phased in over the next several months, including faster money transfers onto Clipper accounts, as well as discounted transfers within the Bay Area’s transit systems.

Riders must 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.

Transit operators hope the changes will boost ridership and push more people to consider mass transit.

“We just feel that anything that makes it easier for our customers to ride SamTrans is a benefit to the entire community,” said Randol White, a spokesperson for the Sam Mateo County-based transit agency. “We never want someone to not get on one of our buses because they feel like the process of paying and getting on the bus is too complicated.”

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.