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- Putting value on your TransLink card
- Autoload
- Fees
- Fares
- Protecting Your Card Balance
- Checking Your Card Balance
- Add Value Machines
- Employee Transit Benefit Programs and TransLink
- Customer Service
Putting value on your TransLink card
The ability to store fares is a key benefit of TransLink. No more paper tickets or passes, no more fumbling for cash. Eventually, a TransLink cardholder will be able to store transit fares for all Bay Area agencies on a single reloadable card.
You can put e-cash, AC Transit local and transbay Adult 31-day Passes, or both on your TransLink card. TransLink is always going to give you the best value by automatically choosing the least expensive type of fare you've loaded.
You can manually load the pass each month or set up Autoload to reload it automatically every 31 days. Currently, AC Transit is offering TransLink cards only for use with Adult 31-day passes and e-cash. We plan to offer TransLink to youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities in mid-2008.
There are several ways to add value to your TransLink card:
- Set up Autoload - Autoload is the fastest, easiest way to make sure you always have value on your card. With Autoload, you pre-authorize a secure transfer of funds from your bank account or credit card directly to your TransLink card. You can add electronic cash (e-cash) and/or load a transit pass. Set up Autoload online at www.translink.org or by completing a TransLink Order and Registration Form, which you can receive in the mail by calling the Customer Service Center at (toll-free) 877-878-8883.
- Apply your employee transit benefit - Load your employee transit benefit from Commuter Checks®, Wageworks®, and other transit benefit programs onto your TransLink card. Visit www.translink.org for more information.
- Visit an AC Transit ticket office or participating retailer - You can add value at AC Transit ticket offices in the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco or in downtown Oakland , or at a participating retail store. Hand your card to the agency personnel or vendor and tell him/her the amount and type of value you wish to add.
- Use an Add Value Machine (AVM) - Self-serve machines are located at the AC Transit's ticket offices in San Francisco and downtown Oakland . Add Value Machines accept cash, debit cards, or credit cards.
- Go online - Visit www.translink.org to put value on your card whenever you need it. Authorize a transfer request from your checking/debit or credit card account. It may take up to 2 business days for your value to be activated.
- By phone - Call the TransLink Customer Service Center toll-free at 877-878-8883 (TDD/TTY 711 or 800-735-2929). Again, it may take up to 2 business days for your value to be activated.
| The minimum load values and accepted types of payment are as follows: | ||
| Ways to add value | Accepted forms of payment | Minimum |
| Autoload |
|
$20.00 |
| Online |
|
$10.00 |
| Apply your employee transit benefit |
|
Any amount |
| Use an Add Value machine (AVM) |
|
$1.00 |
| Visit an AC Transit ticket office or a participating retailer |
|
Any amount |
| By mail or over the phone |
|
Any amount |
Note:
- You can add a maximum of $100 in e-cash at one time.
- You can store up to $299.99 in e-cash at one time.
- You can store up to 3 AC Transit 31-day passes at one time.
Autoload - the ultimate convenience
Why use Autoload? Because it lets you forget about transit fares altogether!
- You'll never stand in line to buy tickets or passes again
- No more cash or paper passes
- " Load a transit pass, e-cash, your employee transit benefit. (Using Autoload to add employee transit benefit is currently available to those who receive their passes or tickets in the mail). Load all three!
- Guarantees you will always have value on your card when you need it
- " Value loads in real time - with no delay. Value will appear on your card when you expect it to be
- In the event an Autoload user loses his/her registered card, TransLink will restore the entire card balance free of charge (balance restoration is regularly $5 for those who do not use Autoload)*
- You can cancel Autoload anytime
* The fee for a replacement TransLink card is $5.00.
Autoload brings the ultimate in convenience. Sign up today.
Fees
TransLink card: $5 (If you set up Autoload at the same time you order a card, the card's free.)
TransLink replacement card: $5 .
Balance restoration: $5 (free once you set up Autoload.)
Card registration: Free. If you already have your TransLink card, you can register it now.
Fares
An an introduction to TransLink, from October 1, 2007 through January 31, 2008, you'll get 25 cents off a single adult ride - every time you ride AC Transit - or receive $5.00 off a local adult 31-day pass ($10.00 off a 31-day transbay pass). See more information about buying AC Transit fares, tickets, and passes.
Any single fare needs to be paid entirely with cash or entirely with your TransLink card. You cannot pay a portion of your fare with cash and a portion with your TransLink card.
Refunds or exchanges for the fare products on your card are not allowed.
In addition to our introductory discounted fares, from October 1, 2007 - January 31, 2008, a major benefit of TransLink is that you can store e-cash and passes on your card simultaneously!
Eventually, you will be able to store all of the different transit passes from all of the participating Bay Area agencies. The smart card is so smart that it knows the correct fare to charge, and it always gives you the best value by automatically choosing the least expensive type of fare value on your card.
Another convenient benefit is that with TransLink, you don't need to keep track of your fares. All you have to do is tag your card when you board and the card reader will display the value remaining on your card.
Here are some typical scenarios showing how smart TransLink really is:
Example 1: Say you need to catch a local AC Transit bus and then transfer, and you have only e-cash on your card. The Translink card will deduct $1.75 from your e-cash balance when you tag it on the first bus, then -- because you boarded a second bus and tagged your card again within 90 minutes -- TransLink will automatically deduct the correct amount ($0.25 for a local transfer, or $1.75 to transfer to a transbay bus).
Example 2: If you have both e-cash and an AC Transit local 31-day pass on your Translink card, and you want to ride into San Francisco, TransLink will automatically deduct the difference between a local and transbay fare from your e-cash.
Example 3: Perhaps you transfer between the two transit agencies currently offering TransLink - AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit and Ferry. TransLink will automatically deduct the correct fare for each. You can't fool TransLink, even if you are eligible for a discounted fare on one system, but not the other.
So, TransLink is pretty smart - but, sometimes, it still needs a little information from you.
For example, while it will automatically charge you correctly for the local-to-transbay transfer, it couldn't possibly know when you are riding locally on a transbay bus. In this case, you'll have to tell the bus operator before you tag your card so s/he can switch the system to a local fare format for you.
During pre-launch, if you plan to transfer from AC Transit (or Golden Gate Transit and Ferry) to a transit system that does not yet accept TransLink, go ahead and use your TransLink card on the first leg of your journey, but be sure to ask the operator for a paper transfer for the next leg, just as you do today.
Protect your card, protect your cash
Your smart card contains no magnetic material, so it cannot be de-magnetized nor will it de-magnetize your other cards. A TranLink card's designed to withstand a great deal of use; however, the small antenna inside the card could be damaged if you alter the plastic. Don't ever bend the card, don't leave it exposed to the sun for long periods of time, and don't punch holes in it.
If you think your TransLink card is not working, you can check at an Add Value machine or on board a TransLink-equipped bus.
A lost ticket means lost money - but it doesn't have to be that way! By registering your TransLink card, you can have your card balance restored if your card is lost or stolen.
If you do not register your card and it gets lost, you may still be able to confirm ownership if you have written your name on the back of it, or if you can provide the serial number printed on the front of it. You may even get your unregistered card back if someone turns it in, but TransLink cannot restore any value that might have been used while the card was out of your possession.
Registration is free. In the event your card is lost or stolen, you would file a report with the TransLink Customer Service Center at 877-878-8883. By midnight, they'll block your old card from further use*. TransLink will mail your new card with your balance restored.
You can register your card online at www.translink.org, by calling the TransLink Customer Service Center at 877-878-8883, or by completing a paper application (request that a form to be mailed to you through the Customer Service Center at 877-878-8883).
*NOTE: A lost TransLink card cannot be blocked until the close of business each day, so you are responsible for the value of any transactions that occur after the time of your call until the end of the business day. You will need to pay in cash or purchase a paper ticket/pass until you receive your new TransLink card.
Check the balance on your card
You can check your balance in several ways:
- Look at the TransLink card reader display when you tag your card
- Call the TransLink Customer Service Center at 877-878-8883
- Visit an AC Transit ticket office, located in the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco and in downtown Oakland
- Visit the self-serve Add Value Machines at the AC Transit ticket offices, located in the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco. and in downtown Oakland
- Visit a participating retailer. (For locations, go to www.translink.org , or call the TransLink Customer Service Center at 877-878-8883.
Add Value Machines
Add Value Machines accept cash and all major debit and credit cards, but not transit benefit vouchers, which must be loaded by an ticket agent or participating TransLink retailer.
If you are paying cash at an Add Value Machine and do not use exact change to load e-cash or an AC Transit 31-day Pass onto your TransLink card, the additional funds will be added as e-cash (which is accepted by all participating Bay Area transit operators).
You can also use the Add Value Machine to check your card balance.
Employee transit benefit programs and TransLink
Use your employee transit benefit to buy a TransLink value!
If you receive a Commuter Check® paper transit voucher: Take your voucher to an AC Transit ticket office, located in the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco (map/directions) and in downtown Oakland , or to a participating retailer to purchase a card and/or value.
If you receive tickets or passes by mail through WageWorks®: Select the SmartCard option when you log in to your employee transit benefit account. Your benefit will be loaded onto your card automatically. For assistance, contact www.wageworks.com.
Customer Service
Bus or ferry operators are not able to fix TransLink card problems or issue a credit, nor can they tell you the value on your card or when value was last added. In the event of a problem using TransLink, you will have to pay your fare with cash and then contact the TransLink Customer Service Center to get the problem resolved.
TransLink Customer Service Center personnel are trained to help you with all kinds of questions and respond to all kinds of concerns and comments about TransLink, for example:
- If your card fails to work
- If you believe you were overcharged
- If your card gets stuck in an Add Value Machine
- If you want to validate your usage history and transactions
- If you have questions about TransLink that are not answered on this site or www.translink.org
- If you have useful input, positive or negative
TransLink Customer Service Center personnel are ready to help. Please contact them toll-free at 877-878-8883.
We look forward to hearing about your TransLink experience. Please phone the TransLink Customer Service Center or visit www.translink.org to share your comments and suggestions.