Caltrain Monthly Pass, VTA, and Tag on/off
Hello all,
I am trying to buy a 1-zone Caltrain Monthly Pass, and I have some questions. Please help me get answered to some of these.
- Apparently, I am not sure if a 1-zone Caltrain Monthly Pass would include VTA bus/rail rides (non-express buses though).
- According to Caltrain, it states “VTA (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) Clipper Customers who tag their valid Caltrain Monthly Pass on a VTA Clipper reader get a local fare credit for bus and light rail services. This means youth and seniors ride VTA Express buses for free, while adults pay just $2.50 using cash value on Clipper. (https://www.caltrain.com/fares/regional-transfer-discounts)).”
- According to Clipper Cards, it states “Caltrain Monthly Pass: Unlimited rides for one calendar month for adults on local buses and light rail and for youth, senior and disabled riders on any route (https://s4.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/vta.html)).“
So I am assuming a 1-zone Caltrain Monthly Pass should work for VTA rides since none of them explicitly states it should be 2 or + zones, like for SamTrans, but I’m not sure.
- About tagging on and off, I’m still confused with Caltrain Monthly Pass. This assumes that a 1-zone Caltrain Monthly Pass includes VTA rides.
For my scenario, I ride Caltrain -> VTA in the morning. In this case, I tag first for activation on July 1, then tag off when I get off at my destination. Then, I tag on again before riding a VTA, and then tag off after hopping off of VTA.
In the afternoon, I ride VTA -> Caltrain. In this case, I tag before riding VTA, tag off after getting off of VTA, and no tagging for Caltrain.
Then, on the next morning, I don’t tag when I’m riding Caltrain, but I need tagging on and off when I’m riding VTA. Is this correct?
Summary:
Caltrain 1-zone Monthly Pass, does it include VTA buses/light rails (excluding non-express buses)?
Caltrain Monthly Pass tagging on and off for Caltrain – once for activation on July 1 and no more until August 1. For VTA, tagging on and off whenever I get on and off with the Caltrain Monthly Pass.
Correct me if I am wrong in any way.