"BART held an event to announce the start of "open payments" last August, meaning that riders can now enter the system by slapping a credit card on the fare gates. That's made possible by the roll out of Clipper II, the Bay Area's modernized fare payment system. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission recently announced that the rest of the Bay Area's transit agencies will switch to Clipper II in December. Included in this move is the reduction or elimination of charges for transferring between systems."
"A proprietary closed loop system presents many drawbacks, particularly for lower-income riders. Moving to an open payment system where riders can pay with their credit or debit cards presents an opportunity to increase accessibility and banking access for hard-to-reach populations. However, if done poorly, without including discount fare programs or providing banking support services, the move to open payments risks leaving low-income riders further behind."
BART enabled open payments last August, allowing riders to use credit cards to enter fare gates through the Clipper II system. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission will switch remaining Bay Area transit agencies to Clipper II in December, and transfer charges will be reduced or eliminated. Open payments can remove friction and boost ridership by up to 10 percent, but no system was included to offer discounted fares for seniors, students, Clipper START users, or other eligible riders. Clipper is currently a closed-loop proprietary system used by 24 of 27 operators, and poor implementation of open payments risks leaving low-income riders behind without discount programs or banking support services.
Read at Streetsblog
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