It’s finally happening, transit riders. Bay Area Rapid Transit officials say contactless payment will arrive next week.
No more fumbling for that Clipper card (if you can find it). Starting Aug. 20, you can pay your BART fare the same way you pay for that morning coffee — with a quick tap of a debit or credit card.
The move, which has been in the works for some time, will put the agency in the company of heavyweights like the transit systems of New York and London, which both offer “open payment.”
Among the perks: cutting down on plastic use and saving a few bucks, since riders can avoid buying new $3 Clipper cards at stations.
Bay Area transit officials say the goal is to eventually roll out the payment option to all regional operators, including Muni, CalTrain, and AC Transit.
“After evaluating the benefits and considerations, it was decided that we’d try to roll out open payments at one operator, and that the most impactful rollout could be at BART,” Jason Weinstein, Clipper program director for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, told commissioners during a July 28 meeting.
Weinstein said his office is “sharply focused” on expanding the feature after they work out kinks that arise on BART.
With a new payment option comes new complications. Those may include confusion among riders who are unaware they’ll still need a Clipper card for all non-BART systems and “card clash,” in which a Clipper reader detects more than one type of card and glitches out.
It wouldn’t be the first Clipper glitch. In July, passengers on BART, Muni, and other networks got free rides for a good part of a day due to a major Clipper system outage. Soon, riders will have another way to rage against Clipper cards — by not using them at all.