Amid much hype on my blog and Clipper's twitter account, Clipper cards was supposed to be accepted on SamTrans starting December 15th (Wednesday), however the debut will be delayed.
Maybe I should rephrase that... there was not much word spread around about the delay. SamTrans and Clipper's website did not mention anything about a planned date for debut, nor announce a delay. Even the MTC's public relations or media office didn't publish a press release or even link a news article about the delay.
You'll hear it now because I like banging on pots and pans to get attention:
The new debut date for Clipper on SamTrans will be Wednesday, December 22nd.
The only news coverage of the delay came from the San Mateo County Times; the article mentions there was some "software issues" discovered on Monday, December 13th that caused the debut to be delayed a week. Most of the rest of the article sounded like a promotional advertisement for Clipper.
Akit's Opinion:
I'm a little frustrated by all of this. Clipper makes one real big announcement of the launch of the blue card on SamTrans, but nobody tells the public there's been a delay? One newspaper, just one newspaper tells the public in one little sentence about the delay.
It's even worse when the Metropolitan Transportation Commission kept their mouth shut about the delay by not notifying the public. Once Clipper opened their mouth (okay, tweeted it), MTC is responsible for notifying the general public of a delay. With my increasing readership of my blog telling them of the December 15th debut, I wonder how many people tried to use their Clipper card on SamTrans that day and was told it was not ready?
I'm also not happy SamTrans and Clipper also kept their mouth shut. Not even one little blurb on their websites saying the launch would be held off for a week.
And what's up with this software problem? SamTrans and Clipper had months to tinker with the software and make sure all the equipment is ready for use for the public.
FOR SHAME!
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