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Review Finds Clipper Card Abuse Not Widespread

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Most passengers who exited the BART system with a negative balance on their Clipper cards later paid the fare rather than trying to game the system, according to the agency that issues the cards.

The Clipper system allows a passenger to get off BART even if there is not enough money on the card to cover the fare.

KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:

"It's not a flaw in the system. It's a deliberate customer convenience," said John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

And the numbers prove Clipper is working as the MTC intended, Goodwin said. Its review found only 80 of the 6,500 BART passengers whose balances went negative during the month of October have not repaid the loan.

Clipper lets riders use a single card to pay the fare on just about any Bay Area public transportation. Goodwin said the program has been so successful that MTC is ordering several hundred thousand more cards.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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