Can I keep using my Clipper card, and other questions about the new Bay Area transit pay system

Under a new system rolled out Wednesday Dec almost every transit system in the Bay Area will allow riders to pay by tapping a credit or debit card Related Articles Transit agencies across Bay Area to begin accepting credit debit cards San Jose Transit Bowl Who will win a three-way race to Levi s Stadium For a transit agency on the brink BART disruptions hit at perilous time VTA hopes to fight downtown San Jose blight by bulldozing building For BART commuters it s another rough ride on a Monday But Clipper payment by plastic card or on one s phone will still be accepted and there are reasons you might want to keep using it What is the new system The tap-and-pay ability newly adopted by Caltrain and bulk other train bus and ferry agencies in the Bay Area allows riders to pay fares with a chip-enabled credit or debit card rather than the prepaid Clipper BART made a similar change in August Accepted payment sources are Visa Mastercard American Express Discover Apple Wallet and Google Wallet Each rider must pay with their own card or device Where an exit tap is required for a Clipper card it will also be required for a credit debit user Will my current Clipper card still work Yes You can continue to pay with your Clipper account and add funds to it using the same method Is there a reason I should keep using Clipper rather than my credit card The credit debit payment system will charge you the full adult fare If you have a youth senior or income-based discount you ll need to keep using Clipper to get the reduced rate I keep hearing announcements about Next Generation Clipper or Clipper What is that Next Generation Clipper is an umbrella term for a number of changes including the credit debit payment method For largest part people the other big advantage of the new system is a transfer discount when you use more than one transit agency for a trip This calculator shows how much the discount will save you on a specific trip For instance riding Caltrain from Palo Alto to Millbrae then taking BART to the Powell Street station will cost rather than To get the discount you must use the same card for all legs of the trip Beyond that the changes are intended to make it easier to set up and use a Clipper account There will be no lag time before newly added funds become available you can manage multiple Clipper cards through one account and you ll be able to apply for youth and senior cards online Do I need to do something to upgrade my Clipper card to Next Generation All existing Clipper cards will eventually be upgraded but without a manual nudge it might take as long as three months If you want to hurry the process along go to your account on clippercard com or call Clipper customer aid at - - On Dec the day the new system went into effect various users were reporting difficulty getting access to their accounts and there was a long wait time on the assistance line How do I know when my card is upgraded When an upgraded card is tapped on a payment reader the message will be Passage OK If the card hasn t yet been upgraded it will display your account balance Or you can call that same backing number - - and ask if your card is upgraded