20 Aug Tap Into Transit: BART Opens Gates to Easier Way to Pay

BART riders can now tap a credit, debit or Clipper card or Apple or Google Pay when entering and exiting the fare gates like these at the Montgomery station in downtown San Francisco. (Danielle Parenteau-Decker / The CC Pulse)

By Andres Jimenez Larios
Bay City News

Inside San Francisco’s Embarcadero station, Mayor Daniel Lurie, BART general manager Bob Powers, and several other local officials on Tuesday announced a new payment system that will allow travelers to use credit and debit cards directly at fare gates.

Starting Wednesday, riders on BART can use their bank cards in a new Tap and Ride fare program that removes the need to use a Clipper card when tapping into and out of the metro system.

Passengers across the entire system will still be able to load funds onto their Clipper cards, whether it be the physical plastic card or on their phone and will need to use Clipper to receive fare discounts directly associated with their Clipper accounts. Officials announced that the new Tap and Ride system will hopefully speed up the process of traveling on the mass transit operator.

“The new system will make BART simpler to use, especially for our visitors who might not ride BART every day, but who want to come to San Francisco,” said Lurie. “Together, we are making it easier for people to get downtown, get to work, eat at our restaurants and visit our iconic San Francisco spots.”

San Francisco International Airport director Mike Nakornkhet said that over the past year, SFO has serviced over 54 million travelers who all benefit from having an accessible transit system.

“We know so many of these passengers look forward to the seamless connectivity that BART provides between the airport and the entire Bay Area,” said Nakornkhet. “I’ve seen firsthand how many of our customers value the solutions that make every step of the journey more seamless.”

BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said the region’s transit planning agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, paid for the upgrade at no cost to BART. Trost said the agency does not expect its revenue to be negatively impacted when passengers transition from Clipper cards to their personal bank cards, but hopes more travelers will find the process easier to use.

“Because this is a new innovation and we’re making it easier to ride, we do hope that by making it easier to ride, we will get more riders,” said Trost. “We do think by introducing Tap and Ride, we’re going to see changes in things like our customer satisfaction rates or the overall approval of BART.”

The new payment method will only be available for travelers on BART, but the MTC is expected to assist in rolling out the system to more transit agencies in the future. However, there is no current timetable for the implementation.

Local riders like Jose Martinez of Oakland said he was happy to hear there would be a new method to pay at BART, but he said his main concern is not how to pay for BART, but how expensive it can be especially when transferring between agencies.

BART said the Tap and Ride system will be in full effect on Wednesday and gave important advice for riders. Passengers should directly tap their card of choice at the fare gate and avoid using their wallets where the readers may charge other cards. All Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express cards will be accepted.

Adult fares are the default payment when using a bank card, so passengers should use their Clipper cards if they are receiving special transit passes such as BayPass or discount programs such as Clipper START for low-income riders.

Riders can go to any station agent at a BART station for assistance, but more complex challenges should be addressed by Clipper customer service or one of the physical Clipper assistance booths across the system.

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