CA: Cubic and San Francisco MUNI to Give Customers 'Clipper Power' for Parking Payment

Cubic Corp. announced July 30 that its business unit, Cubic Transportation Systems and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SMFTA) launched a pilot that will make SFMTA customers the first in the Bay Area to be able to pay for parking at select SFMTA city garages with their Clipper card, the same card they use now to pay for bus and rail fares.

Now customers can touch their Clipper cards to a contactless electronic reader at exit to pay their parking fees and avoid fumbling for cash or having to pay with a separate bank card. The added multi-modal functionality on the Clipper card makes payment seamless and convenient for customers.

"The Clipper card is creating convenient options for all users of our regional transportation network," said Ed Reiskin, SFMTA director of transportation. "Easy payment at garages with a Clipper card is just one more way we can help folks get to many favorite San Francisco destinations, while creating another important convenience for our customers."

“We’re excited to bring this added connectivity to Muni’s transportation services,” said Matt Newsome, vice president and regional director, West Coast, Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. “Parking is an important part in the day in the life of many Bay Area commuters, and giving them the ability to use the Clipper card to pay for parking is another step in the direction of a complete regional system.”

Adding value for parking payment is simple: Customers have their choice of logging into their accounts on the website and setting up an “autoload” to their Clipper card specifically for parking, or by calling the Clipper customer service center and speaking to a representative. Cubic, which manages the clippercard.com site, added the new parking functionality to the site.

Five of the 19 parking garages that SFMTA operates – Japan Center, North Beach, Performing Arts, Moscone Center and Mission Bartlett – are part of the pilot.

Clipper Card is the regional smart card system governed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the agency that plans, coordinates and finances transportation projects in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Participating operators include the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, SFMTA, AC Transit, Caltrain, SamTrans, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Golden Gate Bus and Ferry system.

In addition to being the system integrator, Cubic operates the Clipper Card customer call center, Clipper Card fulfillment and distribution, technical help desk, the retail merchant network and the transit benefits system for employer/employee management of transit subsidies.