EXCLUSIVE: VTA To Discontinue Paper Day Pass, October Update

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has plans to discontinue paper day pass use by the first day of 2016, and will be the first and only transit agency in the nine-county Bay Area region to implement an environmentally friendly take on riding transit. My blog was the first and only blog to announce the move after the discovery of a notice while reading VTA's "Take One" September 2015 publication. In this blog, I go over what is likely in store for the year 2016 and what AC Transit, SamTrans, and BART riders can do when no paper passes are available.

First, let's look at AC Transit and SamTrans riders, as this blog hopes to avoid surprises when transferring to VTA. The year 2016 is likely a surprise for AC Transit and SamTrans because of their day passes being slightly less than VTA. When VTA says "goodbye" to paper day passes, it's "hello Clipper" card, as the Clipper card will be the only way to put either monthly or day passes when riding VTA light rail or bus. This also brings back memories of the announcement of the discontinuation of monthly passes on VTA back in 2012, posted on YouTube.

The format for riders using Clipper card on VTA is straightforward, as outlined in the October 2015 "Take One" pamphlet. When I read the article, the only information provided are the instruction of how to obtain a day pass using Clipper, but did not provide any information on whether other forms of paper passes like the 8-hour excursion pass on light rail would be affected. Regular paper single-paper tickets and the excursion passes for light rail will continue for now, as questions still arise on whether VTA considers a limited-use smart card such as the one on San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA, or MUNI for short) light rail.

It is still unknown if SamTrans will be informing the public about the transfers policy to VTA starting on the first day of 2016, other than the fact that VTA will accept transfers on Clipper card for those who came from a SamTrans bus route. SamTrans riders who transfer from the Palo Alto Transit Center to VTA's bus routes will likely be surprised to find out about not having a paper day pass available. Those who find themselves without one will likely have to head to a retailer or a transit office to obtain a Clipper card.

The same question about the transfer policy to VTA also applies to AC Transit. While AC Transit has one of the most advanced farebox technology of any transit agency in the Bay Area (and in the United States), AC Transit riders who want to transfer to VTA for their final destination will also find themselves in a huge shock on the first day of 2016 stating that transit passes has "disappeared," and finding themselves in a huge hole to get a Clipper card from a transit office or retailer. Meanwhile, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) riders will likely be unaffected as the paper transfer is issued by BART and not VTA in regards to getting on one of the express routes to destinations in Santa Clara County. This is because the paper transfers are not in VTA's control, which BART handles the responsibilities under an agreement with transit agencies who continues to accept the transfers for rides to the final destination well outside of BART's jurisdiction.

In the event that riders who transfer from other transit agencies to VTA wishes to ride on buses or light rail, VTA has no plans to implement new adult Clipper cards at ticket vending machines at this point yet, as there is no funding available to have Clipper cards being dispensed like MUNI does currently. I did ask Caltrain back in 2013 about Clipper card functionality at their stations excluding those with Clipper add-value machines and/or machines that have Clipper card capabilities. Their response was that Caltrain currently has no such funding as of currently and that new machines would be needed to include such functionality.

So if the description of VTA spokesperson Brandi Childress's "Word to the Wise" is part of any rider's plan to transfer to VTA from other transit agencies for any reason, you may want to be aware about saying "goodbye" to paper day passes. None of the VTA spokespeople has made any public announcements regarding paper day passes, but this blog is so far the only blog to provide advanced warnings to riders. Instead of just "word to the wise," isn't that another reason why riders should be getting the Clipper card as soon as possible to avoid the repeat of a VTA 2012 commercial regarding paper day passes? You decide for yourself - send me an e-mail, tweet me, or comment below (subject to restrictions).

Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak