You’ll no longer need a Clipper card to ride BART, starting this week

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Starting this week, you’ll no longer need a Clipper card to ride BART. On Wednesday, the transit system will become the first in the Bay Area to employ a Tap and Ride system that allows riders to pay with their credit cards.

Tap and Ride, according to Bay Area Rapid Transit, will provide riders with the ability to pay adult fares at BART gates using physical contactless credit or debit cards or mobile payment apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay.

The introduction of the new system means riders will no longer need a Clipper card for BART.

“Tap and Ride follows the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates, running only on Fleet of the Future trains, boosting cleaning, and increasing our visible safety presence as efforts that are transforming the BART experience,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “This is an especially important innovation for out-of-town visitors and frequent riders who may not have a physical or digital Clipper card and simply want a simple way to use our service.”

“Tap and Ride will make it faster and easier than ever to take BART into and around San Francisco, and it will help drive our city’s recovery,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

Currently, BART is the only Bay Area transit system poised to immediately implement Tap and Ride. However, according to BART, there are plans to implement contactless bank card payments Bay Area-wide by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and nearly two dozen other area transit agencies that accept Clipper.

Tap and Ride accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Network cards. Physical bank cards must be contactless enabled with the contactless symbol on either the front or back of the card.