SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, August 19, BART began its paper ticket elimination pilot program at the Embarcadero Station.
The program’s goal is to eliminate all paper tickets at BART stations and switch to a paperless Clipper Card, the blue and white magnetic smart card used for transit fare in the Bay Area. Stations will still accept paper tickets, but new ones will not be available for purchase.
The program was executed at the 19th Street station on August 5, and the other two stations that will be transitioning to Clipper Cards—Powell Street and Downtown Berkeley—will begin on Tuesday, September 3, and Tuesday, September 24.
“BART is working to move toward a Clipper-only fare payment system because the region has prioritized the use of Clipper as the Bay Area’s all-in-one transit card administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission,” BART stated in a press release back in June 2019.
Staff were informed at each station for the first three days of the program to ensure riders are aware about the transition from paper tickets to the Clipper Cards. BART and Clipper staff handed out free Clipper Cards to those who did not have them, saving riders $3 on their commute.
For more details on BART’s pilot program, visit bart.gov.
