BART is appealing to riders to weigh-in via a survey on fare increases in 2024 and 2025 that it says will help it continue to provide “safe and reliable service.” The agency is also considering offering low-income Clipper START customers an increased discount of 50 percent—which is up from 20 percent, on Jan. 1, 2024. Customers can find the online survey here. BART began implementing its Board-Approved Inflation-Based Fare Increase Program in 2004, which institutes below-inflation, small fair adjustments intermittently over time. Amid “recent rapid inflation,” BART said the program’s formula “calls for a single 11.4 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2024.” The agency is looking to sidestep that larger, at-once increase by spreading it out over two smaller increases “of up to 5.5 percent each in 2024 and 2025.” The agency last increased fares by 3.4 percent on July 1, 2022. According to BART, it is also examining the possibility of offering larger discounts for Clipper START program riders, which is for adults with a household income that’s 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. Again, the discount would increase from 20 percent per trip to 50 percent per trip. “Money from the fare increases will go towards our operating and capital budgets, funding train service, enhanced cleaning, additional police and unarmed safety staff presence and capital projects such as purchasing new train cars,” said BART. Again, find the survey about BART’s scheduled fare increases through March 26 here. Those responding can enter to win a $50 Clipper card.

Clipper BayPass pilot to give ‘unlimited transit access’ to 50K Bay Area residents

in Community/Uncategorized

A new pilot program will give 50,000 residents in the Bay Area free rides on bus, rail and ferry services throughout the nine-county region.

The Clipper BayPass will initially be distributed to students at San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, UC Berkeley and Santa Rosa Junior College, according to BART. All Santa Rosa JC students will have access to the pass, while about a quarter of students will be invited to participate in the pilot at the other campuses, where alternative transit pass options are offered.

After the rollout to colleges, the pilot program will expand to include all residents of select affordable housing communities managed by MidPen Housing, according to BART.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission in partnership with all Bay Area transit agencies launched the two-year pilot program to study the impact of the Clipper BayPass.

“This limited distribution, which will be based on random assignment, is designed to measure the impact on travel of an all-system pass when compared to students not using Clipper BayPass,” according to BART’s statement.

The pass is being implemented on recommendations of an 18-month study led by the MTC and BART that focused on creating a “more customer-friendly transit fare system in the Bay Area,” BART stated.

“MTC will provide funds to transit agencies to offset the revenue impacts of the Clipper BayPass pilot, which is expected to conclude at the end of 2024,” according to the transit agency.