Clipper E-Cash Accepted on Cable Cars Starting August 8th

If you can dream, so can Clipper...

In the past, Cable Car conductors could only verify if a card user has a valid pass, but they could not deduct e-cash to pay for the one-way fare.

Effective Monday, August 8th, Muni's famous Cable Cars will also accept Clipper e-cash!

This is a cool thing Muni will do, but be warned... conductors will yank $6 of e-cash and you won't have the option to purchase a day pass. If you have a Muni monthly pass, no e-cash will be deducted as your pass gives you the right to ride Cable Cars. Also, the senior/disabled discount fare during late/early hours won't work with e-cash as it needs to be paid with dollar bills.

The old rules still apply: If you transfer from BART to a Cable Car, you don't get a 25 cent discount for the Cable Car ride, and if you have BART high value discount tickets on your Clipper card, it's not valid on Cable Cars unless if you also have e-cash loaded to your card.

OK, I took care of the good news, here comes the bad:
Due to Clipper's negative balance policy: Passengers can save $1 on their Cable Car ride if they go to a Clipper card vendor or the Powell vending machine and just buy the minimum e-cash for a Clipper card of just $5; let the card go negative after the first deduction and dump the card in the trash. A passenger could try to load $7 and rip-off the system by saving $5 by going round-trip, or even load a card with $6.05 to be extra nasty.

I wish Clipper fixed this dumb negative balance policy. Now there's another way to rip-off the system.

Powell Street Parklets are Gorgeous & There's Safety Hazards

If you've been on Powell Street lately, you might have noticed the new parklets just south of Geary. This has made it able to expand the sidewalk to ease overcrowding while eliminating most parking spaces.

I'm impressed, San Francisco government, you can do something quite interesting. It's a little disappointing they couldn't expand the sidewalk to cover the entire block; instead, there are still some parallel parking gaps, but it's only for active loading zones, such as the one in front of DSW, and others in front of hotels.

The way it's made is very interesting, there's plants, places to sit, high top tables, and extra space to walk around without that Times Square feeling of being crushed while walking. Even more interesting is the solar panels, but I'm not sure what they do.

Here's some odd observations from the use of the parklets... I've noticed Cable Car passengers waiting at O'Farrell lining up for the Cable Car because of the way the parklet was built near that corner. Um... there's no such thing as a line, unless if you are at a turnaround.

Safety & Tripping Hazards
While I do love these gorgeous piece of works, there's some things they really need to fix.

The above photo is a perfect example. The edge of the parklet is supposed to be level with the height of the curb. In this shot at the northeast corner of Powell and Ellis, this particular parklet is not even with the curb (about four inches at its highest point). That's a definite tripping hazard.

A second hazard as seen in this photo is where you see the brown slabs of wood and the metal parts sticking out. This particular piece is where the solar panels are attached to, but why are the metal parts just sticking out like that? I know it's all about looking futuristic and such, but what will it cost the city in lawsuits?

Lastly, there's also some gaps within the parklets where the safety barrier meets the road. While I don't have a picture of it, those gaps within the parklets has been encouraging people to jaywalk across the street where they encounter no gap on the other side's parklet. It also encourages cars to double park and let passengers off in those gaps, and that means holding-up city traffic and the Cable Cars.

Hopefully the city is reading this and can get the contractors to make some necessary corrections so we have happy tourists willing to come back to the city, instead of injured tourists thinking of visiting somewhere else next time.

Cable Car Conductors Can't Make Change Due to Fare Hike

This is one of those rare moments when I have to sympathize with Muni employees for the job they do.

For the past few weekends, I've been chatting with Cable Car conductors up and down the Mason, Hyde, and California street lines to get their take about the new $6 single ride fare hike that started on July 1st.

Here's what came out of some of those conversations:

1. A conductor didn't like the $6 hike because it annoys him that he will now have to spend much more time collecting cash and giving change, versus the old $5 fare that was much easier to collect. A conductor's job is not just to collect the cash, but to also be the rear brakeman, whether it be the crank on the Hyde and Mason lines, or the main brake lever on the California line. By taking more time collecting cash and giving change, conductors will have to skip a bunch of passengers paying for their ride to make activating the brake a bigger priority.
2. Another conductor I chatted with said he has constantly ran out of dollar bills. The old $5 fare was so much easier because making change was so much faster. By making it $6, he has to constantly give out $4 in single dollar bills in change (when paying $10), therefore he runs out of singles rapidly. He'd like the old $5 fare back, if it was ever possible. He also told me that he regularly has to ask passengers paying with a $20 to tack on an extra dollar so he can give $15 in change.

I know what you are saying... the Cable Cars are for tourists willing to dish out the big dough to ride such a short ride. But what's it worth when conductors quickly run out of dollar bills to make change? Conductors could beg passengers for more singles, let the passenger ride for $5, or just let the person go for free. Does Muni expect their conductors to carry several stacks of $1 bills at one time to handle the tourists on the busy days?

On the other hand, the fare hike has allowed Muni to make more money; the sales booth at the Powell/Market turnaround has plenty of money to accommodate the $6 fare, and whatever the conductors collect means more revenue.

What's your take? Fare hike worth it, or just a waste of time?

Clipper on Muni Cable Cars - It Can be Improved

One of the items I forgot to add to my Clipper wish list is regarding acceptance on SF's famed Cable Cars. For nearly ten months, Clipper cards have been accepted on Muni's famous Cable Cars, but not without a few bumps in the road...

1. For at least four months since late March 2010, conductors have been poorly trained in using the handheld readers and/or refusing to carry or use the equipment. While I did address these problems two weeks after the first day of usage, it wasn't until the Chronicle published a "City Insider" article and the agency promised to retrain their staff.
   
2. Due to a massive glitch in an update TransLink (previous name of Clipper) provided, I was hassled by a Cable Car conductor and led me to go back to paper passes.
3. For the last couple of months, I've gone back to my Clipper card with my "M" pass loaded and it's been working fine, for the exception of a few Cable Car conductors just saying it's okay without even scanning it.

But the one real awkward issue with Clipper and Cable Cars is only monthly Muni e-passes are accepted; e-cash is not accepted as payment.

This should be a goal for Muni and Clipper by finding a way to accept e-cash as payment for those occasional passengers that doesn't need a monthly pass. In one view, it's an easy way for conductors to handle less cash by deducting funds, but this may also promote more heavy usage thereby forcing conductors to work more with the portable reader than just taking $5 bills and issuing a paper receipt.

Major Clipper Failures on Muni Today = Free Rides

It looks like there is another major Clipper card reader failure at hand on Muni today (for the third time). The last two times this happened was on April 22nd, and June 14th. On April 22nd, I reported the TransLink PR folks released a statement mentioning the system was experiencing failures because the update did not work correctly.

Today, Clipper failures are everywhere. Did the MTC and Clipper authorities find a way to update the card readers without having approximately 75% of the Muni fleet having their readers go out of service? It seems not.

Some of you might be asking, how did I find a lot of card readers out of service today? Here's how: Most of the card readers had all three color lights active while I was waiting for the 18-46th Avenue at 33rd & Geary, and also noticed some on my journey on-board the 38L-Geary Limited and 18-46th Avenue.

1. Bus #6411 (18-46th Avenue)
2. Bus #5622 (1-California)
3. Bus #5509 (1-California)
4. Bus # 6231 (Out of Service bus)
5. Bus # 5483 (31 Balboa)
6. Bus #6241 (38-Geary to VA Hospital)
7. Bus #6215 (38L-Geary Limited)
8. Bus #6200 (38L-Geary Limited)
9. Bus #5578 (1-California)
10. Bus #6235 (38-Geary)
11. Two unknown bus numbers (both 38L-Geary Limited)

Remember folks, Muni sent out a bulletin to all their operators to let passengers ride free if the card readers are broken (courtesy of Muni Diaries). I suggest writing down the vehicle's number and time just in case if a fare inspector wants to cram a ticket in your face for "fare evasion."

Dang... Clipper is getting some bad press! Here's KPIX and SF Gate's stories on the Cable Car Clipper issues. Just to add, I've been reporting about Cable Car and Clipper issues FOUR MONTHS AGO. The mass media is slow as hell to report about this, but I'm FASTER!

Clipper Card's Growing Pains

Last night, KPIX did a news story about the Clipper cards having some really bad growing pains. One person had video proof of problems with Cable Car conductors not knowing how their portable cardreaders work, another getting charged incorrectly multiple times when transferring from Golden Gate Ferry to Muni, and another getting the runaround with customer service for a wrong charge.


The Cable Car problem has been an issue for four months
The TransLink/Clipper card was first accepted on Muni's Cable Cars on March 24, 2010 as long as passengers met one requirement, there must be a valid Muni pass on the card. On April 5th, I reported my experiences with my card and the Cable Car conductors and got mixed results with one confirming my pass while another didn't even carry it on him. It started getting odd the conductors have been given explicit instructions to carry the device, but they didn't while other didn't really know how to do it.

What really crossed the line is when a Cable Car conductor scanned my card on April 17th and the reader said "NO." I told the conductor there is a pass on there, and he used the features on there to review my e-cash balance and valid passes, and it was listed on there. After that point, I was so fed-up with the problems after problems with the Cable Car conductors not doing their job or lack of training, I went back to a paper pass.

When reviewing the KPIX video footage of one of the user's experience on the Cable Cars, the problems have been going on for 4 MONTHS and now Muni will take action by giving their conductors proper training and make sure they have their equipment on hand. I've been giving early warning signs to Muni and Clipper on my blog for months, and they finally listen? GRRRRRR!


Yeah, there are growing pains
Clipper might be growing a little too fast. But it's strange that many don't complain about the first two agencies that started first with the TL/Clipper card, AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit/Ferry. These two agencies have been the first two agencies heavily using it, from giving it to East Bay college students to ride AC Transit for free, to automatic discounts for all Golden Gate passengers without the need to buy ticket books. I observe more complaints about Muni using Clipper than anywhere else, but as we all know, Muni has been the punching bag for us city citizens for everything that goes wrong.

Nobody likes to experience problems, especially when it involves your own money. You would think it would be easy to resolve, but as with any public agency, welcome to the world of bureaucracy. I should be fortunate that I haven't had any recent serious issues, but that's because I have been sticking to a paper Muni pass and only riding BART with my classic TransLink card.

With all these issues, it's common to hear all the gripes now. When Seattle's ORCA card was released to the general public, it also got an earful for all the growing pains, but it's absolutely normal. When everyone understands how things work (e.g. 72-hour policy for Clipper) and customer service is well prepared and trained, things should be better for all of us.


Keep those eyes peeled
I highly recommend for all Clipper users, keep an eye on your account and all transactions. Your online account can give you a report on every single ride you have taken for up to the last 60 days. If you notice a problem, report it to customer service immediately. Be aware, if you see a problem when conducting a transaction on a bus or train, Clipper can't investigate until that transaction shows-up on your ride history report, which can take a day or two.

Cable Car Conductors Don't Carry TransLink Card Readers

In light of word from the SFMTA that Muni's famous Cable Cars now accept TransLink cards with monthly passes only is a great step forward for the agency (also, kudos to SF Appeal for their coverage), I thought it was time to try it out for myself.

Back when TransLink was in its baby stages, I participated in the program as a monthly Muni passholder and the agency mailed me a monthly Muni sticker to be used as a 'flash' pass for all buses and vehicles not equipped because the metro was the only vehicles used in their initial pilot program. This meant I showed my card to the Cable Car conductor and they'd give me the OK since it was valid for the month. (See photo of stickers)

Today, Muni doesn't give monthly stickers since all vehicles have the proper equipment, and the Cable Cars were the last to be equipped due to issues with historic monument rules. The conductors are supposed to carry handheld cardreaders, but on Saturday April 3rd, it didn't go so well:

1. I rode the California Cable Car and the conductor didn't carry a cardreader. But he asked me a few questions such as if I had a monthly pass, and I paid the $60 fee; he simply said "OK."
2. I also rode the Powell/Mason Cable Car from California to the Powell turnaround and the conductor also didn't have the cardreader. He also let me go because he also asked me the same questions as the California conductor asked.

On the Powell line Cable Car, I had a great discussion with the conductor and while he knows he needs to carry a reader with him, he believes it's too much of a safety risk to do so. Since the conductor is responsible for the rear braking system, giving the one/two bell signal to the gripman (operator of Cable Car), collecting cash fares, and answering tons of questions by curious tourists, it's a lot for a conductor to do. We agreed that installing card readers on the vehicles may violate historic monument policies and the devices would need to have the batteries recharged every single day.

In my opinion, the conductors needs to carry them in order for TransLink to be a big success, there's really no excuses to exclude themselves from being part of the program; they just need to get used to how it all works and understand the ultimate convenience of using one card to ride multiple transit agencies around the Bay Area.

BREAKING: TransLink Now Accepted on Muni Cable Cars (Passes Only)

A big step for TransLink to finally get away from being called a 'pilot' or a 'test!' TransLink cards are now accepted on San Francisco's cable cars!

Well... sort of...

All adult fast pass ("A"), Muni only ("M"), and discount passes (youth, senior, and disabled) are the only forms of TransLink media accepted on the cable cars. Passengers paying with electronic cash cannot ride at this time.

Whoo hoo! Who is going to be the first person?

FYI TransLink officials: Please fix your website to mention cable cars are OK with passes.

A little background:
Due to historic monument laws, Muni was unable to install TransLink devices on the cable car equipment, however conductors are permitted to carry card readers that is like a slightly bulky PDA. The readers are only set for "read only" and are unable to deduct out of the e-cash fund at this time. Muni has not made it official of when the "M" pass will be banned from cable cars, but for you cheapskates (like me), enjoy this moment while you still can.

Muni cannot technically be fully ready with TransLink until they do the following:
(1) Cable car conductors are able to deduct TransLink e-cash.
(2) Install card readers or have conductors use portable handheld TransLink readers on the "rare" fleet of F-Market streetcars (e.g. Boat Car, "Desire," and Melbourne).

TransLink (Clipper) Gate Installation for Muni and Cable Car Access

Thanks to a tip from Streetsblog San Francisco, new fare gates are being installed at the Civic Center Muni station. I took a couple of photos the changes being made on a Sunday (when they are not working) to show the future placement of the gates and their vending machines.

The new gates and RFID vending machines are being made by Cubic Transportation Systems. Cubic is the company who also made the Muni fare box for their vehicles, and the latest generation of BART fare gates and ticketing machines. Here's a sample of what the new Muni fare gates will look like (PDF document) and the vending machines (PDF document).

What is known about the new fare gates and vending machines is it will be solely dependent on TransLink. The gates will surely accept TransLink media, but it is not clear if they will still accept the magnetic striped media of the paper passes. The vending machines should be able to do add value just like the current fleet of add value machines installed around all the Muni metro stations, and they will also be issuing "limited use" RFID cards made from paper from the vending machines so passengers can use the ticket to enter the metro and transfer to any Muni vehicle by tagging the ticket.

From my knowledge, there's no exact timeline of completion for this project, but I have e-mailed the SFMTA for more information and will update this blog posting as necessary.

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Cable Cars are also getting prepared with TransLink technology as well. Since historic monument status means the city can't install the TL equipment on the Cable Cars, the conductors who collect the cash fares have been issued the handheld readers.

Just yesterday, I noticed a conductor having a PDA like device in a holster on his right side. I should have asked the guy to try it out on my card that has a monthly pass. Since Cable Cars are part of the "premium" services that an adult "A" fast pass will give unlimited access to (sorry "M" users), the card readers must be in operation no later than August 1, 2010 since the paper "A" passes will be eliminated in favor for TL/Clipper cards.

TransLink card program is improving, but still needs work

I noticed a few changes to using the TransLink card I wanted to share with you. Other than the controversy over the possible changing of the name to "Clipper" and no word of the management board's next meeting which should discuss this topic (no meetings scheduled from now until 2/12/10), there are some improvements that I'm impressed with, but there are also a few noticeable problems as well:


Positive improvements:

1. There are upgrades happening on all the vehicle card readers. If you ride Muni buses, you will notice a small white sticker on the right side of the reader. From the looks of the sticker, TransLink has upgraded the memory and the battery backup for their equipment. The memory upgrade is a big plus and I find the readers to be even more responsive than before. As for the battery backup, it's a feature you will hardly notice.
2. Another improvement is their response time for history reports. Instead of waiting several business days in the past for card transaction history reports, users can still make their request online and TransLink will e-mail you your history report within a matter of hours. My last request only took four hours, a dramatic improvement. TransLink claims they automated the online request process and will result in reports being generated within 24 hours.

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What needs work:

1. The card readers are still very unreliable on the F-Market cars because they are either not turned-on, have the red light with the "DC Not Responding" message, or the readers constantly trying to restart but continuously failing to operate in normal condition. I feel it is possibly due to the age of the vehicles, frequent power fluctuations (the lights flicker on the train when the overhead wires cross another wire); the SFMTA claims it's due to a power related problem.
2. A second problem is Muni has not installed TransLink readers on their remaining F-Market vehicles that are not the PCCs and Milan cars (e.g. "boat" car, "Desire," and Melbourne). These are the "rare" cars that typically don't operate on Market, but run the shortened routes from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building.
3. While the card user report is being generated at a much quicker pace, there's a need to allow the website to access immediate viewing of history reports instead of waiting for an e-mail.
4. While I understand the TransLink management board is talking about our city's Cable Cars having portable card readers, Muni will never be fully TransLink ready until all the cable car conductors have the technology with them. I have a monthly Muni pass on my TransLink card, but I can't use them. If fare inspectors and Caltrain conductors have the new wrist strapped card readers, where are they for the Cable Car conductors?
   
5. Is there a plan to install stationary TransLink card readers at the 4th & King metro platform for after AT&T Park sports events? If TransLink is in full swing on Muni and there's thousands of cardholders riding the metro, wouldn't it be beneficial to have an express line or an easy way to simply tag at the platform entrance and board the trains? Currently, the fare inspectors usually tell cardholders to tag on the trains, but due to the sardine packed crowds on the train, you may not get a chance to tag your card.