CTS is preferred bidder to upgrade San Francisco Clipper system

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has been chosen by the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as the preferred bidder to modernise the Clipper fare payment system. Currently, 22 regional transit operators use Clipper in the Bay area, including Caltrain, SamTrans and Union City Transit. The upgraded system will include an integrated mobile app supporting a virtual Clipper card and provide users access to real-time information, top up their accounts, plan trips and allow them to tap
September 10, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
378 Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has been chosen by the San Francisco 343 Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as the preferred bidder to modernise the Clipper fare payment system.


Currently, 22 regional transit operators use Clipper in the Bay area, including Caltrain, SamTrans and Union City Transit.

The upgraded system will include an integrated mobile app supporting a virtual Clipper card and provide users access to real-time information, top up their accounts, plan trips and allow them to tap their phones through fare gates and on buses.

Users will be able to have access to stored value and pass purchases made online and via the mobile app. The system will also be able to accept contactless bank cards and mobile wallet technologies as acceptance grows in the US.

Matt Newsome, vice president and general manager, Western Region, CTS, says the company will bring new features and benefits early, such as mobile and new bus devices, while longer-term upgrades to the back office are completed.

CTS intends to operate the system in partnership with its cloud service partner Microsoft – which will provide the system’s financial, analytic and customer management software.

MTC is due to present the recommendations on 10 September to the Clipper executive board. It will then be considered by MTC’s operations committee on 14 September and then by the full commission on 26 September.

CTS started operating and maintaining the Clipper system on behalf of MTC in 2009.

Related Content

  • October 29, 2012
    Project to ease traffic on Interstate 80 unveiled
    California’s regional transportation officials are taking a comprehensive approach to relieving clogged arteries that affect the health of commuters and cities along a 22-mile stretch of the Interstate 80 corridor from the Carquinez Bridge to the MacArthur Maze.
    Read More
  • October 30, 2013
    Contactless and NFC set to grow finds CARTES commissioned survey
    As the number of smart phone and tablet users continues to soar, consumer purchasing behaviour will change and consumers will increasingly opt for the convenience of contactless cards and NFC-based payments in the next three to five years. This is one of the findings of a new study into retail payment technology trends, commissioned by CARTES Secure Connexions Event and Payments Cards & Mobile, which also revealed that difference stakeholders have different priorities when it comes to the next generation of
    Read More
  • May 3, 2021
    San Francisco to build 'equitable' public transit
    ConnectSF collaboration seeks projects to ensure sustainable transportation in city
    Read More
  • May 15, 2019
    San Francisco bans facial recognition software
    Lawmakers in San Francisco have voted to outlaw the use of facial recognition tools. It is a move which will have implications for police surveillance – and also for transit agencies. It was reported last year that Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) was considering the introduction of face recognition software on its cameras, for example – but Bart will not now be able to do so. The 8-to-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors means San Francisco is the first city in the US to take this step – and the decis
    Read More

Highlighted Content