In a bid to streamline embarkation and improve passenger experience, Bay Area ferries have announced that proof of payment will now be required during boarding. Previously, passengers presented their fares during disembarkation, causing bottlenecks at exit points due to the limited number of ramps and vessel exits available.
Thomas Hall, the Public Information and Marketing Manager of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), mentioned that checking tickets during boarding will help relieve traffic and allow additional exits to be operated. This change will reportedly not affect the majority of passengers, as 95% of commuters use the Clipper card for their journeys – the user experience will essentially remain unchanged.
Moreover, passengers who don't purchase tickets before boarding will be given temporary slips allowing them entry. However, they will be required to buy tickets immediately upon boarding. Failure to comply could result in being banned from future rides, as mentioned by the Daily Cal.
Deckhands will now ask for passenger names and party sizes while providing ticket slips for those who need to purchase tickets on board, according to an SF Standard report from August 11th. Clipper users will continue to tag their cards on and off when boarding and disembarking, whereas San Francisco Bay Ferry mobile app users will need to activate their tickets while waiting in line and show it to the deckhand at the gate when boarding.
This change was first implemented on the Vallejo route, but it has now been standardized for all ferries. Increased ridership in the past year prompted WETA to reconsider the ticket-checking process to speed up disembarkation on high-demand routes.
