A systemwide Clipper card outage transformed Tuesday morning commutes into unexpected free rides across the Bay Area, as transit agencies opened fare gates and suspended collections when the payment system failed on the same day multiple agencies implemented fare increases.
The timing proved particularly striking for hundreds of thousands of commuters who found themselves riding for free just as several transit operators raised prices for the first time in years, with some officials questioning whether the coincidence was merely unfortunate luck.
The Clipper system experienced a total network failure just before 5 a.m. Tuesday, affecting all 24 transit operators that use the regional payment system1. BART alerted station agents across its 50-station network and opened all fare gates, a move quickly followed by Muni and other agencies1.
"We have not identified the problem, but our team at the MTC, from the leadership on down, is working to fix it," said John Goodwin, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesperson2. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced that fare gates within the Market Street and Central subways would remain open until the issue was resolved3.
At 10:20 a.m., Cubic Transportation Systems, which operates the Clipper system, said they were rolling out a fix and expected everything to work within an hour2.
The outage coincided with scheduled fare increases across multiple agencies as pandemic relief funds dried up1. Muni raised its fare by 10 cents to $2.85, marking the second increase in less than a year after a 25-cent hike in January12. Caltrain increased its base fare by 25 cents, while AC Transit added 25 cents to cash fares, bringing them to $2.7512.
Golden Gate Bridge tolls also increased Tuesday, with FasTrak users now paying $9.75, up from $9.252. Golden Gate Transit and Ferry fares rose by up to 25 cents for most routes2.
"I find the timing of this happening on July 1 to be very curious," Goodwin told The San Francisco Standard1. Former BART board president Rebecca Saltzman criticized the system's reliability, posting on social media that "Clipper 2 is years later than planned" and "Cubik can't even keep the original Clipper system running"1.
The improved Clipper system, which would allow riders to pay by tapping debit or credit cards, had been scheduled for last year but was delayed1. Goodwin said it is expected to launch sometime this year1.
