| Location | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2010 |
| Operator | Cubic Transportation Systems |
| Manager | Metropolitan Transportation Commission |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) ($300 maximum load) |
| Validity | AC Transit |
| Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) | |
| Caltrain | |
| Golden Gate Transit | |
| Muni | |
| SamTrans | |
| VTA | |
| Website | Clippercard.com |
The Clipper card is a reloadable contactless smart card used for electronic transit fare payment in the San Francisco Bay Area. First introduced as TransLink in 2002 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as a pilot program, it was rebranded in its current form on 16 June 2010.[1]
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In 1993, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and County Connection launched a pilot program named Translink (not to be confused with the later incarnation) that allowed the use of a single fare card between the two systems.[2] The card, which used magnetic stripe technology, was envisioned to one day include all Bay Area transit agencies. However, due to technical problems, the program was abandoned two years later.[2]
Translink had a projected capital cost of $4 million when undertaken in 1993.[2] In its current form, first as TransLink and later as Clipper, implementation was expected to cost $30 million.[3] Cost estimates have since increased; the projected 25-year capital and operations costs are now estimated at $338 million.[3]
Scheduled implementation delays have added up to more than a decade. In 1998, MTC envisioned full availability of TransLink by 2001.[4] However, it was fully operational for only five transit agencies by 2009.[5] As of December 2011, Clipper is accepted by only seven transit agencies.[6]
Clipper was developed by Australian-based ERG Group and Motorola under the ERG-Motorola alliance in April 1999. However, upon the launch of Clipper, Cubic Transportation Systems has taken over administration of distribution, customer service, and financial settlement of the program.[7]
Full implementation of Clipper has been far slower than that of similar contactless smart cards, including the Oyster card and SmarTrip, chiefly due to bureaucratic difficulties.[8]
On 16 June 2010, MTC changed the TransLink name to Clipper.[9]
In October 2010, the MTC selected 路路通 (Pinyin: Lùlùtōng)[10][11] as the official Chinese name for Clipper.
Clipper is functional for seven transit agencies:[6]
Approximately 20 transit agencies have not yet joined Clipper, including ACE, County Connection, Sonoma County Transit, Tri-Delta Transit, WestCAT, and WHEELS.
Clipper cards can be remotely loaded with funds online and by telephone. Remote loading does not occur instantaneously; instead it takes up to three business days for funds to become available for use. Funds can be loaded instantaneously at Clipper service centers, Clipper add-value machines, BART ticket vending machines, and various retail outlets. Automatic loading of funds ("autoload") is also available.