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

  • March 15, 2016
    Creative finance enables parking progress in LA
    David Crawford investigates an innovative public/private partnership. Los Angeles entered the second decade of the 21st century facing major challenges to its parking operations. With a population of 3.8 million, and its car-oriented culture still predominant, the city's parking meters were technically outdated - with most only accepting coins and many regularly out of service - resulting in a substantial loss of revenue. This coincided with a number of Californian cities looking to parking income to boost
    Read More
  • October 24, 2012
    Cubic highlights its Nextcity urban travel payment and information platform
    Cubic, which has a revenue collection heritage going back nearly 40 years, is highlighting elements of the technology behind its Nextcity vision for the future here at the ITS World Congress. The goal for Nextcity is an integrated, multi-modal urban travel payment and information platform. Nextcity envisions a fully-integrated whole of transport, journey and payments management systems. It will enable a more efficient way of regulating, planning and informing all modes of travel within a given region, by
    Read More
  • June 23, 2021
    US pledges £250m aid to transit jobs
    Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is allocating funds to projects in 31 US states
    Read More
  • January 22, 2013
    Live bus prediction technology launched
    Bus passengers in San Bernardino, California now have up-to-the-minute, accurate bus arrival information at their fingertips with bus operator Omnitrans’ new NexTrip technology. Passengers can access NexTrip real-time bus information via mobile web browser, desktop computer, SMS/text, or by calling 1-800-9-OMNIBUS and selecting the NexTrip option. Online, customers can view buses and stops on a route map with real-time tracking. They even can sign up for automatic alerts, such as notification when the bus i
    Read More

Highlighted Content