How do I buy a Muni Fast Pass?
Reset Rating: C+ (9 out of 15)
By: Katie Short
Link: http://www.sf311.org/index.aspx?page=124
So to save money, you’ve decided to purchase a Muni Fast Pass good on BART for your daily commute from 24th Street/Mission to Embarcadero and your other trips around town. While you ride those blue cloth seats, looking forward to the new fleet, to come. In thirteen years, you can pull out your laptop, log on to WiFi Rail, and check this item off your to-do list. If only this nearly-Gov 2.0 service was that easy.
Accessibility: 0.5 out of 3
So the link for the Fast Passes from the sf311.org website is broken…
Then the link for the Fast Passes from the SFMTA.com site takes you to the clippercard.com main page…nothing more specific than that…
Finally, from the Clippercard.com main page, after you log in and select “Add value online,” you’ll be able to see where you can select and purchase a Fast Pass.
The trials and tribulations here make this service not really accessible and we definitely do not recommend this as a Gov 2.0 service.
These pages have links at the base for translating the site into Chinese or Spanish.
Ease of Use: 1.5 out of 3
The process by which the user comes to find how to purchase the passes is a little convoluted, at best, but once you’re in the act of purchasing the Fast Passes, it’s simple enough.
Design: 3 of 3
As noted in our previous Clipper card registration review: The Clipper pages are visually consistent, and the forms are clean.
The Guide: 2 out of 3
The minuscule FAQs link at the base of each of the clippercard.com pages can help clarify some of the terms, etc. used in the processes, but this does not exactly comprise an online troubleshooting device.
Once you’ve logged on to your Clipper card account, the “Customer Support” page, which you can link to from the left navigation bar, provides you with phone numbers, emails, and locations you can use to reach out to someone for assistance.
User Feedback: 2 out of 3
Reminiscent of the Clipper card registration review: You can call or email the customer service department to offer them feedback…or you can select the small, grey link at the base of the clippercard.com pages labeled “Contact Us”, which would take you to a clear, usable form. It’s just hiding.
As in the previous clippercard.com review, the lack of visibility for this feedback form, and the number of red herrings, i.e. phone numbers, emails, etc, prominently displayed can lead a user astray, is the reason this component lost a point for feedback.
Finding it…
(An abridged version, for the sanity of the reader, sans the wild goose chase mentioned earlier.)
From the Clippercard.com main page, select “Add value online” from the left navigation bar, and proceed to enter your Clipper card’s serial number on the next page. You can then register your Clipper card and create an account, if you haven’t already, or log in to your existing account. Either way, you then click “Add value online” option from the left navigation bar of the next screen, select the card you wish to reload, and on the next screen select the type of pass you would like to purchase, specifying Muni passes. You’ll select the type of pass you’re interested in, Adult “A” or Adult “M,” and then pay.
