Clipper card outage across Bay Area transit agencies has been resolved, official says

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Clipper card outage that affected commuters taking public transportation across the Bay Area Tuesday morning has been resolved.

There is the saying "there is no such thing as a free ride." But BART passengers didn't have to pay for the morning commute because the Clipper card system was not working.

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"The lady is like, (the Clipper card) doesn't work. So, I'm like, alright. I'm going to just keep going," says BART passenger Shimar Ewing, who lives in Pittsburg.

"I was like, I need to find $20 in my pocket, but apparently it's free now!" says Ryan McGeehan, who lives in Antioch.

Chris Calhoun is taking BART to SFO. He is just glad the glitch only impacted ticketing and not service.

"Unfortunate that it happened that way, but I mean $15, or $13 can go to lunch at the airport," says Calhoun.

But just before 12 p.m., the Clipper card was working again after the morning commute.

John Goodwin with Metropolitan Transportation Commission says a software malfunction caused the problem also impacting Muni, VTA and other services.

"The result was a systemwide Clipper outage, which affected every transit agency that accepts Clipper for payment," says Goodwin.

Cubic Transportation Systems operates the Clipper card system. In a statement to ABC7 News, a spokesperson writes: "We are working closely with all local transit operators across the region to ensure that riders experience no further inconvenience, and everyone's afternoon commute is back to normal. We appreciate the public's patience as we addressed this issue."

Berlena Gullette, who lives in San Leandro, is a regular BART rider. She is concerned about money that BART could lose amid its ongoing financial concerns.

"I was quite surprised that another issue is happening with BART, this time with the Clipper card. They are going to lose a lot of money," says Gulette.

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BART isn't the only transit agency that may have lost money. Goodwin says there is a compensation mechanism in place, but the details have yet to be resolved.

"There is a formula based on average ridership during X number of hours and so forth," explains Goodwin.

MTC says it did investigate if the change in the pricing may have caused the problem. But they have since ruled that out.