You Can Soon Tap a Credit Card to Pay BART Fare. It’s Been a Long Time Coming

BART riders are about to get their first chance to use at least part of the long-awaited Clipper 2.0 fare-payment system.

The system, which has been under development for more than a decade, will debut Wednesday with contactless card payments at the turnstile — only one of the many features Bay Area transportation officials have promised.

Clipper 2.0’s “open payments” capability means BART passengers will be able to use contactless credit and debit cards — essentially, cards with a chip — in addition to Clipper cards and mobile phone apps to tap through at fare gates.

In a memo circulated to BART staff, the agency said passengers need to be aware of several issues unique to the new system:

• Each rider must use a separate contactless bank card.
• Those using open payments will be charged the full adult fare. People entitled to take advantage of BART discounts, such as seniors, youth and people with disabilities, will still need to use a Clipper card or the Clipper mobile app to get their reduced fare.
• Whatever payment method is used to tap in must be used to tap out.
• Riders should be aware of possible “card clash.” To avoid getting overcharged, riders should take out only one fare payment method at the fare gate. Contactless cards must be removed from a wallet; if riders are using a mobile wallet, a default payment card must be selected.

The Clipper payment system has been criticized over the years for being slow to incorporate features like phone and smartwatch payments. It was launched in 2006 under the name TransLink.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has been preparing for a next-generation system, dubbed Clipper 2.0, since 2013. In 2018, the commission awarded a $461 million contract to Cubic to develop and operate the new system.

By 2020, MTC and Cubic were promising a full transition to Clipper 2.0 by the end of 2023. The date was moved back to the spring of 2024, then to spring of 2025.

The MTC and operators have promised that the new system will make it possible to offer a wide range of fare programs designed to make transit more attractive: credit and debit card payments; free transfers between bus and rail agencies; and “fare-capping,” a system that sets a maximum daily or weekly cost for users regardless of how many times they ride.

The repeated delays in introducing the new card have prompted sharp criticism from a committee of transit executives appointed to monitor the work.

“We get close to the milestone, we get close to the goalpost, the goalpost moves to the right,” BART General Manager Robert Powers said to project managers in January. “Then we get closer, closer, closer — the goalposts moved again.”

At the committee’s meeting in June, Powers blasted Cubic for failing to meet the latest delivery date.

“You have zero credibility,” Powers said. “I mean, you’re talking about building confidence. You’ve got zero, you, meaning Cubic.”

It’s still unknown when the Bay Area will see a general launch of the fully featured Clipper 2.0 system.