Visiting Chicago this weekend, and I am reminded of what a well-done #PublicTransit access can look like.

Years ago I was impressed that CTA’s #Ventra cards were just prepaid debit cards you could use anywhere, which meant they could help many unbanked people with day to day activities.

And now, if you have any contactless payment card (digital tap wallets or just a tap-capable physical card) you can use that without using a special card or app or ticket.

Proprietary transit payment systems need to die. *cough* #ClipperCard *cough*

Transferring your #ClipperCard to Google or Apple wallets is convenient but poorly implemented. If your phone is lost or broken, there's no direct transfer option. Instead, you have to pay a $3 "recovery fee" and receive a new plastic card by mail with the remaining balance.

I had my very first chance at using #ClipperCard on my #AppleWatch today and it was awesome. The promise was that, with #ExpressTransit enabled, you could simply wave your watch at the reader and done — no interaction with the device is necessary. It worked exactly this way on both BART and MUNI (trolley/LRT/bus in San Francisco). And no need to worry if the battery dies! Nice.

I’m a fan. Digital transformation using #NFC was a promise that seems to finally delivered.

PSA about digital #clippercard for #sfba on iPhone:

if you've added a digital card to #AppleWallet, and then you get a new phone, the card won't automatically transfer.

and if you try to re-add it, it will ask you to produce a physical card to authenticate.

so if you threw away your physical card (because it can't be used as a physical card once you've added it to your phone so why keep it?!), you won't be able to activate it on your new device.

ask me how i know.

#sfmta #BART #transit