light-rail
Blue Line
Fares
2 Hours of FREE Transfers when you purchase a single-ride fare using Clipper.
Please have exact change ready when boarding.
Fare Type
Cost
Available for purchase using:
- Cash
- Clipper
Single Ride
$2.50
- YES
- YESSee afternote for more information
8-Hour Light Rail Pass
$5
- YES
- NO
Day Pass
$7.50
- NO
- YESSee afternote for more information
Monthly Pass
$90
- NO
- YES
Annual Pass
$990
- NO
- NO
Fare Type
Cost
Available for purchase using:
- Cash
- Clipper
Single Ride
$5
- YES
- YESSee afternote for more information
8-Hour Light Rail Pass
N/A
- NO
- NO
Day Pass
$15
- NO
- YESSee afternote for more information
Monthly Pass
$180
- NO
- YES
Annual Pass
$1980
- NO
- NO
Fare Type
Cost
Available for purchase using:
- Cash
- Clipper
Single Ride
$1
- YES
- YESSee afternote for more information
8-Hour Light Rail Pass
$2
- YES
- NO
Day Pass
$3
- NO
- YESSee afternote for more information
Monthly Pass
$30
- NO
- YES
Annual Pass
$330
- NO
- NO
Fare Type
Cost
Available for purchase using:
- Cash
- Clipper
Single Ride
$1.25
- YES
- YESSee afternote for more information
8-Hour Light Rail Pass
$2.50
- YES
- NO
Day Pass
$3.75
- NO
- YESSee afternote for more information
Monthly Pass
$35
- NO
- YES
Annual Pass
$385
- NO
- NO
Body
Day Pass Accumulator
The Day Pass Accumulator feature ensures the Clipper® cash rider will never pay more than the price of a Day Pass.
Just load your Clipper card with cash, tag it upon boarding, and once you’ve paid the equivalent of a Day Pass, any further local rides that day will be free.
Fare Compliance
VTA light rail operates on a proof-of-payment system. All light rail passengers must have a valid fare before boarding light rail. Clipper patrons must tag their Clipper card before boarding a light rail vehicle.
Fare inspectors regularly patrol the system and ask passengers at random to produce a valid transit pass. Violators are subject to fines and can lose their transit privileges. Failure to comply with VTA's fare policy is in violation of California Penal Code 640. Violation of California Penal Code 640 is punishable up to the maximum penalty allowed by law.
If you have been cited for not having valid fare and need information on how to pay the fine, you can use the Santa Clara County Public Access Traffic Case Information Website. Information can be found by visiting the Santa Clara County Superior Court's website.
2 Hours of Free Transfers
Payment for a single ride with Clipper will be valid for 2 hours of FREE transfers across VTA buses and light rail. Express bus fare is required for any trip that includes express service.
Adult passengers traveling from a local bus to an Express bus will have to pay a surcharge of $2.50:
- Adult Clipper card users must pay the surcharge in the form of Clipper cash (only). Cash value must be loaded prior to tagging on the express route. The same Clipper card must be used when tagging from local to express routes. See details for SmartPass holders.
- Youth and Senior/Disabled/Medicare riders who transfer from local to express service will not have a surcharge.
Monthly Passes
Monthly passes are valid for the calendar month purchased. They are not 31-day passes.
Monthly passes are available for purchase from the 16th of the previous month through the 15th of the pass month. For example, a monthly pass for July is available for purchase from June 16 through July 15.
Express Fares
Express bus fare is required for any trip that includes express service.
Express Fares are for Express Bus routes only. Youth and seniors pay their regular fare on Express Buses.
Senior (65+), Disabled & Medicare
To qualify for the Senior/Disabled/Medicare fare, you must present one of the following:
- Medicare Card
- Regional Transit Connection (RTC) Discount Card or a valid card from another California transit provider
- DMV Disabled License Plate registration
- DMV Disabled Parking Placard printout
- Proof of age (65 and older)
A valid picture I.D. may be required.
May ride VTA Express Bus service without an upgrade.
Youth (5-18)
- A valid picture I.D. may be required
- May ride VTA Express Bus service without an upgrade
- Children under five ride free
- Youth Clipper Card will automatically convert into an adult card on your 19th birthday
Clipper
A Clipper card makes it easy and affordable to ride VTA with free two-hour transfers.
You can load a Monthly Pass on your card, as well as cash value for Single Rides or a Day Pass.
SmartPass
SmartPass is a deeply discounted annual calendar-year pass institutions can provide to employees, residents or students
Fare Programs
Excursion Passes - Light Rail Only
Whether you’re going to festivals, movies, parades or other leisure destinations, the 8-Hour Excursion Pass is your ticket to fun on Light Rail!
Excursion Passes are sold only at light rail station ticket vending machines for use during major Levi's Stadium events.
They make getting there, and back, so much easier!
- One pass is good for eight hours from the time of purchase
- Passes cost the same as two Single Rides
- After the fun, just hop onboard – you’ll already have your pass
Per VTA Board Approved Fare Policy: No refunds shall be made for purchased passes. Lost or stolen Day Passes or Monthly Passes shall not be replaced.
Convention Pass
For Conventions/Hotels only, the Convention Pass is just the ticket for savings and unlimited rides on VTA Light Rail and bus during any convention, seminar, meeting and other large gatherings.
- Passes are 25% off of the regular Day Pass price from groups of 100 or more.
- Passes come in multiple day options (1-Day, 3-Day & 5-Day) for varying schedules.
- Scratch-off design allows cardholder to select days of use.
- Orders must be submitted a minimum of 10 business days prior to the date needed.
- For more information, please contact Fares@vta.org.
Per VTA Board Approved Fare Policy: Convention Passes are available only to Conventions/Hotels and not valid on Highway 17 Express. No refunds shall be made for purchased passes. Lost or stolen Day Passes or Monthly Passes shall not be replaced.
Summer Youth Pass
Youth 18 and under enjoy unlimited rides on VTA bus and light rail with the Summer Youth Pass from June through August. That’s three months of travel for the price of two Youth Monthly passes!
Class Pass Program
This popular program allows teachers, grades K - 12, within Santa Clara County the opportunity to take their students on field trips traveling by VTA buses and light rail for free.
Each teacher is eligible to receive up to two “class passes” every school year. This allows students, teachers and chaperones to ride VTA buses and light rail to museums, cultural events, libraries, and other popular destinations for free.
The Class Pass Program transports over 50,000 teachers and students during each school year.
- Complete our Class Pass Field Trip Application form at least three weeks prior to the scheduled trip for consideration and processing.
- Once approved, your Class Pass and trip itinerary will be sent to you 2 weeks prior to your scheduled trip.
Paratransit ID Card
Passengers with a valid Paratransit ID Card receive free rides on VTA Local, Express bus service and Light Rail. The pass is not honored on Highway 17 Express, Dumbarton Express, Caltrain and Sports Service.
Annual Pass
You can pre-purchase monthly Adult, Youth, Senior/Disabled Passes for an entire year and have them sent to you each month. It's simple, saves you money and you can start anytime of the year.
The Annual Pass Subscription Program allows you to pre-purchase 12 monthly passes (for 12 consecutive months) for the price of 11 monthly passes.
Annual Pass Application with Terms and Conditions.
Per VTA Board Approved Fare Policy: No refunds shall be made for purchased passes. Lost or stolen Day Passes or Monthly Passes shall not be replaced.
Clipper START
Clipper START is a region-wide pilot program providing single-ride discounts to eligible riders.
Starting January 1 ,2024, patrons using a personalized START Clipper card are eligible to receive 50% discount on their Adult single-ride eCash fares upon tagging on VTA bus and light rail Clipper device.
To qualify you must be:
- Be a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Be 19-64 years old.
- Not have an RTC Clipper Card for people with disabilities.
- Have a household income of 200% of the federal poverty level or less.
For more information and to apply, visit Clipper's START page.
Regional Transfers
VTA has agreements with area transit operators to provide convenient transfers. These include:
- Highway 17 Express
- Caltrain
- BART
- ACE
- AC Transit
- Samtrans
- and more
Regional Transit Connection
The Regional Transit Connection Discount Card is a version of the Clipper card issued to persons with disabilities.
With the card you can buy discounted VTA Senior/Disabled monthly passes using Clipper or load cash value onto the card.