#bay-area-transit

#bay-area-transit

The tap-and-pay ability newly adopted by Caltrain and most other train, bus and ferry agencies in the Bay Area allows riders to pay fares with a chip-enabled credit or debit card rather than the prepaid Clipper. BART made a similar change in August. Accepted payment sources are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Each rider must pay with their own card or device.

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 designed to save riders money and modernize how they pay for transit. Next-generation Clipper arrives Tuesday, with perks like discounted transfers, the option to pay with a contactless credit or debit card and instant availability of funds added to accounts.

A sales tax increase to fund the Bay Area's struggling transit systems appears to be headed to the ballot in November 2026. The California Legislature up against its deadline to pass bills last Friday approved SB 63, which allows a ballot measure to move forward, ending a multiyear political debate over how to make up for pandemic revenue loss across systems like BART, Muni, and Caltrain - and who should pay for it.

With just days remaining until the end of the legislative session, the Governor's Department of Finance informed lawmakers it will not be finalizing a critical bridge loan to prevent serious service cuts to BART, Muni, AC Transit, and other Bay Area public transit operators next year. Not authorizing the loan now could lead to quick service cuts by major Bay Area transit systems. Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguin (D-Oakland) have been working for months to try to finalize loan terms.