Sailing Ahead – San

Francisco Bay Area’s

ClipperSM SmartcardFare Collection Workshop – Integrating Legacy Systems

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Agenda

History of TransLink®/ClipperSM

Launch of the ClipperSM Brand

Fare Media Transitions

Outreach

Distribution Strategies

System Integration

ClipperSM in the Future

History of TransLink®/ClipperSM

• The San Francisco Bay Area has over 20 different transit

agencies and over 1.5 million transit riders per day

TransLink® was designed to make transit more

convenient and accessible in the Bay Area

4

Early 90s - TransLink®

was introduced as a 2-agency pilot program (BART, County

Connection)

2002 - Second pilot program introduced

between MTC and AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, SFMTA, and Santa Clara VTA

2006 - AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit & Ferry begin accepting TransLink® as fare

payment

2008/2009 –Caltrain, SFMTA,

and BART begin accepting TransLink® as fare payment

2010/2011 - SamTrans and VTA begin accepting TransLink®

(now rebranded as ClipperSM) as fare payment

2000 2010

5

ClipperSM covers 6 modes and is accepted

at agencies providing 95% of all transit trips

in the San Francisco Bay Area

• In the planning stages, the system was developed by a

consortium of agencies, rather than a lead agency

– ClipperSM was designed to replicate all products, fare

models, fare categories, and intra- and inter-operator

transfers/agreements for 7 agencies, making development

and business rules complex

• In 2010, MTC assumed the policy decision-making role

for ClipperSM

6

MTC plays a unique role in the management of the

ClipperSM system

AC Transit

Golden

Gate

SamTrans

Small

OperatorsSFMTA

Caltrain

BART VTA

MTC

Launch of the ClipperSM

Brand

MTC rebranded TransLink® to ClipperSM in June 2010

to increase recognition and utilization of the system

• Overall brand recognition of TransLink® was low

• The program was entering a key consumer rollout phase,

and the program name and associated marketing was

designed to capture public’s attention

• ClipperSM was chosen to connect the program to the region

– Clipper ships were a technological innovation that sped travel

time to the San Francisco Bay Area and were essential to the

development of the region during the California Gold Rush

8

A launch event was held on San Francisco’s Hyde St

Pier with local and regional leadership present

9

The ClipperSM rebranding resulted in increased

marketing and publicity opportunities

• TransLink® logos replaced with

ClipperSM on fare payment devices

• ClipperSM cards distributed free of

charge

• Commercials aired on local channels promoting ClipperSM advantages

• Website, Facebook, and Twitter pages

rebranded and updated

• Aggressive advertisement campaign in buses, trains, stations, regional hubs

in three languages

• Over 130 outreach events held

10

In order to increase visibility, bus exteriors were

wrapped in ClipperSM livery

11

Fare Media Transitions

13

MTC required operators to transition their fare media

to the ClipperSM smart card to reach program goals

• In February 2010, MTC passed Resolution 3866, which

required transit operators to convert their existing prepaid

fare media (i.e. tickets and passes) to TransLink®/ClipperSM-

only

– The transition from traditional paper and magnetic fare media

was deemed critical to the success of the program

– MTC projected that fare media transitions would result in 20

million transactions per month

– At that time, the system was only achieving around 1 million

transactions monthly

• Fare media transition expected to help in program

objectives of increasing ease of transit use, regional access,

and ridership

14

Fare media transitions are ongoing

• MTC worked with operators to set goals,

understand their concerns, and help

mitigate perceived obstacles

• Initial fare media transitions began

March 2010 and major product transitions are expected to be

accomplished by June 2011

• Region’s most popular fare media

product, the SFMTA Adult Muni-Only Fast Pass transitions to ClipperSM-only on

April 1

– Of the estimated 65,500 Adult Muni-Only

Fast Pass holders, 65% have already

transitioned to the ClipperSM card

• Operators joining the system must

transition their fare products within one

year of Revenue Ready status

15

MTC worked with agencies to develop transition

techniques and strategies

• Caltrain’s transition has resulted in calls to the ClipperSM

CSC at a rate much higher than ridership would suggest

– Combination of zone-based fares and different tag-on tag-off

policies for different products has created customer confusion

• AC Transit required Youth cards to be printed with photos,

due to fraud concerns

– Extensive outreach at schools was required

• MTC and SFMTA transitioned the Adult Muni/BART Fast Pass,

one of the region’s most popular fare media products, with relatively few issues

– In months leading to transition, paper Muni/BART Fast Passes

were distributed through SFMTA’s vendor network wrapped

with “It’s Time to Switch!” promotional communications

– ClipperSM Cards with pre-loaded monthly passes were

distributed through SFMTA’s vendor network

16

ClipperSM-only faregates were installed at SFMTA’s 9

light rail stations

• TVMs were installed which issued both ClipperSM cards

and Limited Use Tickets

– Outreach events were held at stations to educate

customers on new fare equipment

17

Since fare media transitions began, transaction

volumes have increased nearly 500% in 8 months

• Average weekday ridership on ClipperSM has increased

6-fold in the 8-month period

• Total settled revenue has increased over 300%

0

2

4

6

8

10

Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11

Tra

nsa

ctio

ns

pe

r M

on

th (

mill

ion

s)

Outreach

• ClipperSM promotional materials and the ClipperSM

website are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese

• Customer service representatives are available over the telephone in 3 languages

• ClipperSM advertising was placed on Spanish and

Chinese newspapers, television, and radio

• ClipperSM has a special branded name in Chinese

– “Lu Lu Tong” has a specific meaning for native Chinese

speakers19

MTC has focused on outreach to Limited English

Proficiency (LEP) communities

• ClipperSM sponsored a booth at

the Chinese New Year

Community Street Fair

– Information on local retailers

where customers could obtain

ClipperSM cards and value with

Chinese-language assistance

was provided

• Organizations that can provide

assistance with outreach to

Latino communities throughout

the region have been identified

20

A strategic outreach plan was developed to utilize

existing LEP community infrastructure

Distribution Strategies

22

MTC has taken a proactive approach to card

distribution for senior patrons

• Initial policy required senior patrons to

submit applications at transit agencies

and wait to receive a senior ClipperSM

card in the mail

• MTC approved a program designed to

put pre-initialized senior ClipperSM cards

in the hands of qualifying seniors

– Goal of program was to decrease

problems experienced by seniors in

obtaining and using their ClipperSM cards

– Increase in ridership and value added for

senior patrons increased after distribution

program

• MTC opened two In-Person Customer Service Centers which, among other

services, are able to issue youth and

senior cards with qualifying identification

23

Distribution of ClipperSM value through transit benefit

programs has been challenging

• Key challenge has been changing customer behavior

• When issues arise, responsibility to address customers is

unclear

• The ClipperSM program has created its own transit benefit

program, Clipper DirectSM, and markets it directly to

employers

System Integration

25

ClipperSM system integration with existing operator

systems has been key

• ClipperSM cards may be used to pay for parking through

BART’s EZ Rider Parking Program

• E-cash add value and balance inquiry functionality

have been integrated into existing BART TVMs

• New ticket vending machines with ClipperSM

functionality are being introduced on Golden Gate Ferry

• Integration of ClipperSM functionality into existing VTA TVMs is being planned

ClipperSM in the Future

27

June 2010 February 2011 % Change

Average Weekday Ridership

65,617 368,143 461%

Monthly Fee Generating Transactions

1,558,659 8,861,683 469%

Average Weekday Revenue $168,331 $650,398 286%

Monthly Revenue $4,158,760 $16,905,245 306%

Unique ClipperSM Cards per month

77,759 347,217 346%

Unique Clipper Limited Use Tickets per month

N/A 182,638 N/A

Use of the system has experienced significant

growth since rebranding to ClipperSM

28

Even with remaining transitions, aggressive action

still needed to reach 20 million transactions

• Projection A assumes current trends while Projection B

assumes further fare media transitions and aggressive marketing

-

5

10

15

20

25

Jun-

10

Aug

-10

Oct-1

0

Dec

-10

Feb-1

1

Apr

-11

Jun-

11

Aug

-11

Oct-1

1

Dec

-11

End of Month

Tra

ns

ac

tio

ns

pe

r M

on

th (

mil

lio

ns

)Actual Projected - Scenario A Projected - Scenario B

Major Fare Media

Transitions End

29

Agency Clipper Market Share (%)

AC Transit 22

BART 29

Caltrain 50

Golden Gate Ferry 78

Golden Gate Transit 37

SamTrans 2

SFMTA 31

VTA <1

From a market share perspective, there is a lot of

room to grow

• ClipperSM goal is to process 60-80% of all boardings

30

On a more global basis, Clipper℠ should go the next

step in becoming recognized as the universal fare

collection system in the Bay Area

• Examine business rules with an eye to simplification

• Recommend regional fare products

• Brand equipment in the future to make ClipperSM-oriented and not so operator specific

• Create bolder press releases as the system matures and consumer confidence is gained

• Embrace new technology as a way to improve operational efficiencies, customer service, and reduce cost

Thank you for your attendance

• Questions?

– Please contact David Weir of the Metropolitan Transportation

Commission at 510-817-5979 or dweir@mtc.ca.gov

• Thanks to Ed Meng of Booz Allen Hamilton for his assistance with the

creation of this presentation