A pilot program being put into place with the joint blessing of the SFMTA and MTC (the Metropolitan Transportation Commission) will allow Clipper card users – formerly Translink card users – to use their handy piece of plastic in select SOMA parking garages.
The Clipper card, already accepted by BART, Muni (even when the card reader isn’t working, a nice touch), AC Transit and a handful of other transportation providers, is expected to one day give Bay Area riders access to all 26 greater Bay Area transit agencies. But in the meantime, this parking garage move is a small step forward.
The MTA-run parking garages in question include Mission-Bartlett (3255 21st), Japan Center (1610 Geary), North Beach (735 Vallejo), Performing Arts (360 Grove), and Vallejo (766 Vallejo).
The actual launch date of the $1.7 million program (the apparent cost of the contract amendment), however, is still unknown, so readers will have to sit on the above-mentioned information indefinitely.
If you don’t already have a Clipper card, you can get one here, though there are apparently ways to nab one for free.
