My suspicions are correct, the MTC is following through with delaying the mandatory Clipper card transition for all seniors and youths who uses their paper passes on Muni.
Originally, Clipper was supposed to be mandatory for all "Y" and "S" passes starting with the February 2011 pass, and this has been the official notice the SFMTA and their press relations department has been telling everyone about.
I received a Twitter reply from a Clipper representative just moments ago (link fixed):
- "Actually, Muni Senior and Youth passes will still be available in paper form until further notice."
If the MTC follows on their path to delaying the pass transition, the new goal will be June 2011; they want to accomplish the full transition of nearly all Muni passes (except the senior "P" pilot pass and "L" lifeline pass) before the start of the new 2011 fiscal year (July 1, 2011).
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However... I still encourage all youth and seniors of San Francisco to register for a Clipper card. This means, get your butt down to a registration site or a transit ticketing office and complete the registration forms and provide proof of age. For more information on how do get a youth or senior Clipper card, click here. As one of my commentators said, you can get an INSTANT youth or senior Clipper card if you visit a Golden Gate Transit/Ferry ticketing office, and this means no waiting two to three weeks for it in the mail.
Clipper cards suck; they are not working in buses of which i rode in 3 days. Why it has to beep so loud? Can it be softer tone?
ReplyDeleteSFMTA's website indicates only two ways to get a youth card and it must be done in person at South Van Ness or Presideo St. It further states:
ReplyDelete"Senior or Youth applications sent by mail will not be accepted."
The SVN office is open 8 to 5 and the Presideo location is open until 8pm. However, I can see both of these locations and times being incredibly inconvenient.
I can imagine that for some people, taking a few hours off work to visit SVN could mean the boss will say don't bother coming in that day and basically get a furlough day. After work, the Presideo St. location could be pretty far out of the way.
If Muni wants these things distributed, they should make them more easily available. Hold some neighborhood events at rec. centers, libraries, or give them out in schools, etc.
In contrast, seniors may obtain their cards from one of about 20 different senior centers located throughout the city.
First anonymous poster: When you mean "they are not working" can you explain? Not turned-on? Acting odd? Getting error message when tagging card?
ReplyDeleteSecond anonymous poster: Why not visit the Golden Gate Ferry terminal ticket booth at the Ferry Building? They are open every day (including weekends).
Also, the proper spelling is Presidio, not "Presideo."
I was playing devil's advocate as if I were someone who doesn't read blogs and may have limited Internet access and computer knowledge.
ReplyDeleteIf I only visited the SFMTA web site or only questioned SFMTA, that would be the only information I have to go by. I would not know about the Ferry Building ticket sales office. Heck, I work across the street from the Ferry Building and go inside at least twice a week and had no idea there were any TransClipper sales inside.
The GG Ferry ticket station is on the apron towards the south end of the Ferry Building; it's outside the Ferry Building. There are TransClipper sales inside at the Bay Crossings store, but that is a (separate) private operation.
ReplyDelete