Clipper Card makes it Easy

By Candace Anderson, Contra Costa County Supervisor;

With the holiday season upon us, East Bay residents have a new tool to help us get around more efficiently. Clipper, the all-in-one transit fare payment card already accepted on 13 Bay Area transit systems, is now accepted on County Connection busses. The days of hunting for spare change in the couch cushions to find bus fare are over. County Connection busses are clean, comfortable and are all Wi-Fi equipped. They are a great alternative to being stuck in traffic or hunting for a parking space at BART Stations, downtowns or shopping malls.

How do you know when your bus is coming? County Connection has a great bus tracking system to help riders out. The bus tracker system it utilized by installing the Transit App for Apple and Android devices. This app can be personalized so that you can get notifications about when the next bus is coming, utilizing a GPS tracking system installed in each bus. Download the Transit App at thetransitapp.com. Bus schedules and route information is also available at countyconnection.com

You can get a Clipper card and add value at:

• Walgreens, Whole Foods, and other select retailers
• BART and County Connection transit agency ticket offices
• On line at com
• Call Clipper at 877-878-8883

Please note that Senior Clipper cards are not available at most retailers and need to be purchased at BART or County Connection ticket offices because proof of age is required.

Using Your Clipper Card:

• Make sure you have a valid pass or a minimum balance of $1.75 (75 cents on a Senior or RTC Clipper card) before you board
• When boarding the bus, locate the Clipper card reader just inside the front doors
• Hold your card flat against the Clipper logo on the reader
• Wait for the beep and green light – then continue to your seat

Bus and BART Transfers:

• The Clipper card will recognize one free bus-to-bus transfer within a 2 hour time period.
• The Clipper card will recognize and honor free transfers between County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, Wheels and WestCAT at shared transit stops.
• BART transfer fares will be recognized and deducted accordingly ($1.00 for adult & youth riders and $.50 for senior/RTC riders) from the cards stored cash value, or no deduction for 31-day pass users.

Clipper is a service provided by Bay Area transit operators and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. For more information about Clippper, visit www.clippercard.com.

Try out your Clipper on a County Connection bus this holiday season. It makes life so much simpler. Whether you are going into San Francisco for a day trip with the family, or coming back from a late night with friends, you will know exactly when your bus will be there, and that with your new Clipper Card you can pay with ease.

My office is here to serve the residents of Contra Costa County District 2, which includes San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Saranap, Parkmead, Lafayette, Moraga, Canyon and Orinda. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can provide you with additional information on this topic or on other County issues. I can be reached at [email protected] or 925-957-8860.

 

Our high school intern Michael Stanaro contributed to this article.

 

 

  busses, Clipper Card, County Connection, payment system, Senior Clipper Card