""Actual fees have been growing substantially," said Edward Meng, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's program coordinator for Clipper. "And [they] have not really slowed down ever since the mobile launch in April 2021.""
"A few years ago, monthly fees were far below $250,000, but as travelers adapted, the associated fees climbed to well over $1 million a month during autumn last year."
"Fees paid to Cubic, which manages the electronic fare system, started going down after BART began accepting 'tap to pay' credit and debit card payments last summer, but those gains were slowly replaced with the unanticipated fees from Visa and Mastercard."
Bay Area transit officials reported a significant rise in credit and debit card fees due to changing rider behavior, necessitating an additional $500,000 allocation. The transit system faces financial challenges, including a $350 million deficit for BART and a $307 million deficit for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Despite prior budget approvals, fees have escalated since the mobile payment launch in April 2021, with monthly fees exceeding $1 million. The transition to 'tap to pay' has reduced some costs, but new fees from Visa and Mastercard have emerged.
Read at SFGATE
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