BART discontinues paper tickets at SFO vending machines

Sept. 12, 2023

BART will stop accepting paper tickets Nov. 30 as the agency completely transitions to Clipper cards as the form of fare payment.

Related To: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will no longer be selling magstripe paper tickets at SFO vending machines, as only Clipper cards will be offered as a payment method at SFO, effective Sept. 30, 2023.

BART began offering paper tickets at SFO in October 2022 in response to global supply chain issues impacting the region’s plastic card inventory. BART now has an adequate supply of cards and will eliminate the sale of all paper tickets, including the sale of red tickets at the Customer Service window at Lake Merritt Station for RTC applicants waiting for their Clipper card to arrive and paper tickets for group sales.

While BART will eliminate the sale of all paper tickets, riders are still able to use the paper tickets they already have on hand, including weekend promotion tickets, to enter and exit through most fare gates until Nov. 30, 2023.

Beginning November 30, 2023, paper tickets will no longer be accepted at BART. This change is occurring as BART begins its installment of new fare gates, which will not accept paper tickets and as Clipper prepares for the launch of the next generation of Clipper.

Clipper is available through Apple Pay and Google Pay. Riders can add a Clipper card to their phones for free (normally $3). Funds added using Apple Pay and Google Pay are immediately available for use.