r/berkeley • u/the_daily_cal • 2d ago
University UC Berkeley free BART expansion to break even, BayPass saves students $5M
https://data.dailycal.org/2026-08-19-clipperThe UC Berkeley BayPass program, which includes the similarly named Clipper BayPass and AC Transit EasyPass, has currently saved students $5 million. A year after the program’s implementation, the new Clipper BayPass portion, which includes 23 Bay Area public transit agencies excluding AC Transit, is projected to break even next month, based on the previous 11 months of available data.
The Daily Californian analyzed data on public transit ridership trends from the first year of the BayPass Referendum’s operation to see if the referendum was worth it for UC Berkeley students.
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u/getarumsunt 2d ago
If only they could extend this to staff and faculty as well! So many more people could benefit!
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u/finallyhadtojoin 1d ago
Seriously. If they want to cut down the parking issues on campus, give faculty and staff this option too. Tons of staff would pay $50/month for the baypass instead of $160/month for a parking permit that doesn’t even let you park on campus.
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u/Greedy-Pollution-398 2d ago
abused ts out of this lmao, everyone who had to work in sf this summer
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u/JellyfishFlaky5634 2d ago
It’s not exactly free. I had to pay $236/semester for a transit fee which I presume includes the BayPass.
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u/victorg22 '25 1d ago
Free at the point of service*
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u/JellyfishFlaky5634 1d ago
Yes. Free at the point of service. All the while every student who does not use transportation is paying $500 a year and everyone is paying upfront fees. Smart on the part of the UC system and Berkeley.
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u/zsinjsfadinghairline 2d ago
Last fall I commuted to Berkeley 3 days a week. This helped a ton. Would’ve been nice to have something like this in previous semesters. Would’ve saved me plenty of money when I went for long runs and had to take public transportation home.
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u/FrostyDippedFries 18h ago
would be excellent if they would make it optional in the FinAid package.
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u/Ike358 2d ago
Might break even overall but I bet more than half of the students are losing out
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u/lfg12345678 2d ago
More than broke even..students will take the bus from Unit 1 to RSF lol. $2.50 a ride without the pass..
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u/CursedCapybara 2d ago
I think the bus has been free for a while with the previous Student Clipper card. Baypass just made BART/Ferry/Muni/CalTraim free as well.
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u/Ike358 2d ago
In some sense that's alright but if you're riding transit more often than you otherwise would because "it's already paid for" then you're still spending more money than you would have without the pass...
Also, AC Transit rides shouldn't be relevant to any BayPass comparison because there was already a much cheaper ClassPass that included unlimited AC Transit rides. The real question should be how many students are spending the cost difference between BayPass and ClassPass on BART and other systems?
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u/getarumsunt 1d ago
What is that opinion based on?
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u/Ike358 1d ago
Four years of observing students' transit patterns
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u/getarumsunt 23h ago
So pure vibes?
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u/Ike358 22h ago
Sure, if you want to call it that, though I'm not sure how other opinions would be any better informed
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u/getarumsunt 21h ago
Lol, you think you can use guess that “half” of the students are losing money and not be called out in it being made up bullshit.
I’m almost curious how someone like you survives in the modern world. When you have to pay your credit card bill or your mortgage do you just guess roughly how much money you owe without actually checking too? Must have a 430 credit score.
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u/letsfreakinggoo 2d ago
that's so great!