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Caltrain Expected To Approve Fare Increase

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Caltrain plans to raise its one-way cash fare by 25 cents in order to encourage more riders to switch to Clipper Cards, rail officials said.

The one-way fare will remain the same for riders who pay with a Clipper Card, a payment system Caltrain officials said is cheaper than manual payments or automated pay stations.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

"We're trying to reduce costs," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, the vice chairman of the Caltrain board of directors.

"It makes it a lot easier to board. You don't have the ticket machines that are needed. It's easier for the conductors," Yeager said.

Yeager said about 70 percent of the 40,000 riders who board Caltrain every day now use Clipper Cards instead of cash.

The fare increase, scheduled for a vote by the Caltrain board of directors on Thursday, also includes a 50-cent hike in the cost of a 1-day pass.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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