Pro Tip: Always Tag Your Clipper Card on Muni (Regardless if a Pass or Not)

I've likely said it a bunch of times on my blog, so let's wipe off the dust and take the cobwebs off and remind everyone...

Don't forget to tag your Clipper card on Muni!

Over the past couple of weeks, some news stories came up about people not tagging their Clipper card and either getting hassled by a fare inspector or getting a fat $100 ticket.

Several hours ago, Muni Diaries heard from the folks at Muni that anyone with a monthly pass isn't required to tag their card.

And at KRON Channel 4, Stanley Roberts (a.k.a. the guy who filmed the infamous elmo shirt rant) did a couple of video segments of fare evaders getting caught for not paying their Muni fare with Clipper and getting a big $100 ticket. (First video on top of blog entry, and second video on bottom of entry).

We all should know by now, fare evasion is a bad thing to do, and sets a bad example to the rest of the public ("hey, monkey see, monkey do!"). I've mentioned it a few times back when the brand new Muni fare gates had a "glitch" in which people could use their hand to open the gates and gain free entry.

For those of you paying for Muni with the blue card using e-cash or an electronic token ridebook, tagging is mandatory every time you board. Don't do it, you'll eventually get caught.

Pro tip #1: Always tag your card correctly. Getting the error tone means you card is NOT VALIDATED! Don't swipe, hold and wait for confirmation.

But as Muni Diaries mentioned, what about monthly passes? Good point. Muni's policy is not to cite people, but the fare inspector has to sift through the data on your card to find out if you have a pass or not; and that means wasted time.

But this is only for the metro service. Not tagging on a bus or F-Market streetcar could get likely in trouble with the operator as passengers are supposed to board the front door and either pay cash, show the transfer, or tag their Clipper card.

Even then, tagging your card is highly encouraged; not just to avoid wasting time with an inspector, but it also helps Muni gather ridership data. When they do an assessment, they have hard proof to the state and federal government that the money they are receiving is not enough based on the ridership numbers.

They can also use the data to find out about usage patterns; say if at 9PM at night, there's a high volume of tagging on the 1-California line, that could indicate to Muni that an extra bus might be needed to run. But it could run negatively to help support reductions of service for a line as well.

Pro tip #2: If the metro train's card reader is not functioning, go to the other half of the car; the "A" car's Clipper card readers are independent from the "B" car's.

So always remember, tag your Clipper card or face the wrath of a notorious fare inspector...

Have a great Wednesday!

Updates: Clipper Card Acceptance on Ferries & Napa-Solano, Union City, & Marin Buses

Greetings everyone! Yes, I'm alive after not blogging as regularly as I should. Things have been quite busy in my personal life for the past few weeks, from going on a diet to joining a bowling league and practicing at the lanes with my co-workers.

Let's get on with Clipper card news:

The MTC's Operations Committee met on Friday, February 17th to discuss new matters about Clipper.

Next Phase of Clipper
Clipper's next step is to expand into the smaller transit agencies. In their minutes from their previous meeting, it is expected the Bay Area ferries will be joining the Clipper card family as early as April 2012. The month mentioned did not say if there's any testing time or exactly when it will be available for public use.

The next transit agencies to join Clipper will be the Napa-Solano group, Union City Transit, and Marin Transit. They were chosen because of the limited amount of Clipper equipment remaining in their arsenal, and their connectivity to other participating agencies using Clipper; for example, Union City Transit connects to BART and AC Transit, two major companies part of the Clipper consortium. Clipper expects equipment to be installed in the next 8-9 months, and should be ready for public use by March or April 2013.

In other Clipper card news
The committee is seeking to approve a contract amendment of $30,000 to the contractors running the Embarcadero station's Clipper card kiosk (this would raise their annual contract to $1,087,100). Statistically, that particular location is the top seller of Clipper card value (e-cash), and with their secondary location at the Ferry Building, has sold over 26,000 new Clipper cards (more than half are youth & senior cards), and replaced over 9,000 inoperable cards. The MTC is considering to give them more money to increase their staffing levels and expand their service hours.

Lastly, Clipper is asking the MTC to approve some changes to the operating rules of Clipper. It's a huge document to read over and I don't know exactly what they are changing. One interesting and particular rule in the operating rules is on page 27 about fees: Clipper can charge a passenger a $5 fee for every second failed Autoload funding source when it is declined.

Akit's Opinions
I think it's going to take some time for new agencies to join the Clipper consortium. You are at least looking at one year just to get the next fleet of buses up and running; as for the ferries, I'd expect them to get ready for public usage by around late Summer or early Fall 2012.

For the 30K additional to run the customer service kiosks with more service hours is a good thing. The lines themselves are long and they are quite popular for the incompetent people who doesn't realize a good number of the kiosk's functions can be done quickly at a self-service machine just feet away from the kiosk.

50 Years of Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

Tony Bennett's legendary song about our city, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" will be played on many radio stations around San Francisco today at 12 Noon.

Can you actually believe it's been 50 years since it was first released? Even then, our city's favorite song, or for me, our unofficial city anthem is still played often around our city.

Did you actually know, I can sing the song pretty well? It's always a crowd pleaser when I go on a cruise and do some karaoke in front of a crowd. I even sing along when attending a home game and the SF Giants win the game just because it's our city's song.

I might rag on our city once in a while (especially Muni), but let's never forget about the song we love. So today, we pay tribute to a great song about our wonderful city.

Enjoy this Valentines Day!

Hacking a Clipper Card? Easy and Cheap Solutions to Protect Yourself

There's been some word around that someone was able to hack a Clipper card.

I know how to hack a Clipper card, just give me a saw.

Actually, it's the other type of hack, some person was able to find how to exploit the Clipper card by being able to somehow get through the encryption and obtain the data. In the worst case scenario, someone could be able to use that data to make clone cards and either make fake card balances and passes to sell, or steal one's information and make a clone card (similar to someone skimming a credit card's magnetic stripe).

Am I concerned? Sure I am, but I'm protected like an electronically tested condom (which reminds me, time to visit Costco for an economy pack).

There's no fear in this; odds are very low that someone will skim your Clipper card and ride Muni free for the rest of the month. Even then, stealing the info and e-cash balance and trying to get cash back is really difficult: You have to prove to Clipper customer service that you are the registered user of the card. Also, if Clipper knows your card is funded or partially funded with commuter benefits (even just one cent), they are not allowed to cancel the card's balance and mail you a check.

If you are just paranoid, get your tin foil hats and learn about this: There are products on the market that is able to shield your Clipper card from people skimming information. You could wrap it in tin foil, that's a cheap option. There are sleeves that people can use to slip their card in to protect it. But the problem with a tin foil or sleeve shield is that you will have to pull your Clipper card out every time when you want to scan it.

One solution I suggest is what is shown in the picture on this blog post. I use a badge holder. This one I have from Identity Stronghold works fine, and I also added a retractable reel to it so I can hook it to my belt. What makes it easy is you don't have to remove the card to scan, you just squeeze the top of the card to open it, scan the card, and un-squeeze to protect the card. I tried the holder with it protected/secured and Clipper card readers doesn't even know the card is there, but with a little squeeze, the card can be read.

So really folks, there's nothing to really fear. You don't need a replacement card if they come out with the newest generation of cards that are more secure. When more secure measures comes out, hackers always try to outsmart it. But with sleeve or badge holder that is shielded, there's no way to electronically pickpocket you.

Clipper Customer Service Desk - Long Waits & Faster Alternate Methods Nearby

On Saturday, I burned some time in downtown and stopped at the Embarcadero station to hop on the California Cable car. When I got to the top of the escalator at the mezzanine level, I noticed a huge line at the Clipper customer service desk.

I had to scratch my head at the huge line and said to myself, "dang, that's the line?"

I also quietly laughed because I just handled a purchase to my Clipper card in just under a minute, and it's only a few feet away from the booth.

The Clipper Customer Service Desk
They are used for customers who wants to add value and passes to their card, apply for youth and senior cards, have questions about Clipper, replacing lost/stolen cards, and fix any problems with their account.

I did notice a few with paperwork in hand to apply for specialized youth & senior Clipper cards, but a handful looked like they were in line to purchase their monthly transit passes since the new month is just a few days away.

For those of you purchasing passes or needing to add Clipper e-cash value, there's an easy way to do it... go to the self-service automated machines within the Embarcadero station! There's even a banner over the Muni ticketing machines and the third party sales booth behind the line describing what Clipper services they can do (the third party booth was closed that day).

The automated machines can do...

Muni - Purchase e-transit passes and e-ridebooks for ALL participating agencies, and add e-cash (minimum of $5). Accepts cash, credit cards, debit cards, and commuter benefit cards.

BART - Add Clipper e-cash only (minimum of 5 cents). Accepts cash, credit cards, debit cards, and commuter benefit cards.

If you carry transit benefit checks (vouchers), you still have to claim it at the customer service desk, or you can go upstairs to the Walgreens.

So, don't suffer in line if you need to buy a pass or add e-cash! All Muni underground stations can get you what you need (if only e-cash, use ANY BART station).

How BART Rips-off Tourists When Leaving SFO

BART's extension to SFO has been popular for travelers with decent prices that's less than a shuttle van and taxi, and gets passengers from the airport to downtown SF within 30 minutes. On the weekends, I notice the trains coming from SFO packed full of visitors and their luggage when I board the train at Daly City.

BART now offers visitors an option to pre-pay for their fare and pick-up their tickets at a counter nearby the main gates at SFO in terminal "G." The voucher page is a little hidden in the BART website, but once you find it, you click on the link and can buy the voucher online from a third-party official contracted vendor of BART.

You can purchase one of three options, a round-trip BART ticket from SFO to downtown SF stations, East Bay I (stations in East Bay, but closer to SFO), and East Bay II (stations furthest from SFO station).

Once you purchase the voucher, you print it and bring it to the nearby counter at the BART gates to claim it for BART tickets. The tickets will contain cash value similar to purchasing a ticket at a vending machine.

What's so bad about it?
It sounds simple, pre-pay and you get your tickets at a customer service counter.

Uh huh. How about the cost?

Here's a great example:
The printable voucher for a round-trip ride from SFO to a downtown SF station (Civic Center, Powell, Montgomery, and Embarcadero) costs $18. There's no service fees, print-at-home charges, etc. It's just $18.

But checking BART's fare table, a ride from SFO to a downtown station costs $8.10, so a round-trip ticket would cost $16.20.

This means, BART is ripping tourists and visitors off by taking an extra $1.20 in profit for the online voucher program.

Based on the website, there is no details if the $18 voucher purchased online will give the passenger a $18 BART ticket, or a ticket valued at $16.10, but either way, if a passenger is only riding BART to and from SFO, it's a definite rip-off to purchase the voucher.

Just remember visitors, BART ticketing machines accept credit cards too, so save that $1.80!

Transit Agencies in Napa & Solano Counties Next to Join Clipper

Just a few days ago on Friday, January 13th, the Operations Committee of the MTC met to talk about their usual business, and specifically, spending money on Clipper.

Other than the agency spending money on preparing for VTA's full transition into Clipper, I'm going to stick to the big topic at hand, "Phase III" of Clipper.

As you may recall, Phase II of Clipper was to have all major transit agencies in the Bay Area join the Clipper consortium and it has been successfully done with card readers on every bus, train, and train/metro station in the Bay Area.

Phase III of Clipper is to expand the program into the smaller transit agencies. To make the expansion more efficient and cost effective, they have been broken-up into regions of where the transit services is provided. The regions are: East Bay, Napa-Solano, 101 Corridor, and Ferries.

The Ferries group is supposed to be the first, but there hasn't been any news of any new developments. One reason why the ferries will go first is because it requires fewer Clipper equipment (readers, add value machines) versus a single transit [bus] agency that requires extensive amounts of equipment and labor to be installed on every single bus.

Who Gets Clipper First for the Buses?
The MTC is proposing to the Operations Committee to pick the Napa-Solano region to be next with Clipper. The region covers the following agencies:

• SolTrans
• Fairfield-Suisun Transit
• Napa VINE
• Vacaville City Coach
• Rio Vista

The MTC is also considering to install Clipper equipment to Union City Transit and Marin Transit.

The MTC has hit a big bump in the amount of Clipper equipment left in their inventory; ERG, the manufacturer of the Clipper card equipment, does not make any more of the equipment that is currently used on the buses of the major transit agencies. Either the MTC gets lucky to procure whatever is left from ERG in Australia or will need to look for new equipment.

The lack of equipment forced the MTC to choose the region that would best fit the remaining equipment in storage, therefore Napa-Solano is the proper choice. Depending on what is leftover, Union City and Marin Transit may also be added for installation; these two agencies are being treated differently because Union City Transit is an extension of AC Transit, and Marin Transit is an extension of Golden Gate Transit.

What About the Other Transit Agencies?
Since there's a lack of equipment in MTC's inventory to cover every single bus for the remaining agencies, they'll need to look elsewhere.

Cubic, the contractor for Clipper, will need to seek new equipment. As the report states, the newest generation of RFID transit fare equipment now includes real-time cellular communications, which means, rapid communications between the equipment and the Clipper network, and without the 5 day waiting period common with online and phone orders with the current technology operating on the major agencies.

The new equipment they are looking at is what's going to be used in Vancouver and Chicago this year when they roll-out their new farecard programs. MTC and Clipper plans to start piloting the new equipment this now until March at no cost to the MTC to see if it will work well with the current Clipper technology in use now.

If the MTC likes the new equipment, they'll likely make a proposal at the March or April Operations Committee meeting and provide the plans for the 101 Corridor and East Bay groups.