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KQED: Clipper 2.0 Leaves AC Transit Cash Riders Behind
December 19, 2025— KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman examines how the Bay Area’s new Clipper 2.0 upgrades are creating a widening equity gap for the 51% of AC Transit riders who pay with cash.
The story centers on riders like Silvia Matias, a 23-year-old single mother who spends $45 a week on AC Transit—$7.50 more than she would pay if she used a Clipper card. While the December 10 rollout of Clipper 2.0 brought welcome improvements like weekly fare caps and free transfers, these benefits are only available to riders with Clipper cards or contactless bank cards.
Laurel Paget-Seekins, senior transportation policy advocate at Public Advocates, told KQED that low-income riders and residents of historically marginalized communities face numerous barriers to using Clipper, from lack of reload stations in neighborhoods like deep East Oakland to the requirement to pre-load funds on cards.
“The system doesn’t work for people who are low income and unbanked and live in neighborhoods that don’t have access to reload their card,” Paget-Seekins said.
AC Transit board member Sarah Syed has introduced an agenda planning request calling for fare policy reform. Public Advocates is urging AC Transit to equalize cash and Clipper fares and create a way for cash users to purchase weekly passes—ensuring that transit improvements benefit all riders, not just those with access to banking services.