Using Paper Tickets to Pay Local Fares Ends December 31

Press Releases
12/24/2010

FREE Clipper Cards Still Available During The Transition

Paper 10- Ride tickets and 31-Day local adult passes will no longer be accepted as fare payment starting January 1, 2011. The paper tickets are being eliminated as part of the move to the Clipper card as the universal fare instrument for all Bay Area transit agencies.

To help the transition, Clipper cards which normally cost $5 each, are being made available for FREE to adult bus passengers. The cards can then be “loaded” with value — including 31-Day passes — and used instead of the soon-to-be-eliminated paper tickets.

AC Transit discontinued the sale of adult paper tickets for local fares on October 31, 2010 but passengers are allowed to continue to use the tickets until the end of this year.

As part of the effort,  an AC Transit outreach team, wearing Clipper T-shirts and jackets, have been on various bus lines and stationed near busy intersections, and at AC Transit bus stops at busy BART stations, to explain the changes and offer a Clipper card to any adult who wants one.

“We have been working hard to make this transition from paper tickets as convenient and seamless as possible for riders,’’ said AC Transit Interim General Manager Mary King. “We are trying to make sure our retailers and customers are clearly informed about the switch, and well-prepared to make it.”

The switch began on October 31, 2010 when vendors stopped selling adult paper tickets. Any unused adult paper ticket can be exchanged for a free adult Clipper card with the value of the unused paper ticket preloaded onto the card. This can be done by visiting AC Transit’s downtown Oakland ticket office at 1600 Franklin Street which is open Monday – Friday,    8 a.m.-5 p.m.  Or phone (510) 891-4706 for more information.

Unused tickets can also be exchanged by mail by printing out and completing the ticket exchange form (www.actransit.org/exchangeform) and mailing it to AC Transit with the unused paper 10-Ride and 31-Day ticket. A free Clipper card with the value of your tickets will be mailed to you within about a week.

Riders can also exchange unused 10-Ride Youth/Senior/Disabled tickets for $10 worth of single-ride tickets, using the same form. But unused paper tickets cannot be exchanged at any retail vendor location. They must be exchanged by AC Transit staff.

The Clipper card works the same as paper tickets except, instead of throwing them away at the end of the month, the card can be reloaded again and again. In addition, transfers are automatically stored on Clipper cards, eliminating the need for paper transfers. This not only helps the environment but saves time and reduces costs for the agency, too. 

In addition, the Clipper card can be registered online so it’s easily replaced if lost or stolen. It can be automatically reloaded when its value dips below a certain amount; and it can be used on other Bay Area transit systems like BART, Muni, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit and Ferry — and soon on SamTrans and VTA.

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