Can I use my card to pay the fare of someone traveling with me?

TransLink® cards are for individual use. Each rider 5 years of age or older must have his/her own card. The TransLink cards also have a feature that stops you from tagging more than once on the same bus within a 10-minute time frame. This feature was built in to protect you from accidentally tagging and being charged twice.

What happens if the TransLink card reader says I don't have enough money on my card for my ride?

If your fare exceeds your available e-cash balance, you can complete your trip, as long as you have at least $0.01 on your card. You will need to add value before you can use your card again. Your new card balance will automatically be reduced by the amount you owe.

If your card has no e-cash on it whatsoever, or if your 31-Day pass has expired, your TransLink card will be rejected and you'll have to pay your fare in cash. Setting up Autoload ensures that you don't ever run short on fares!

Does the BART-to-Bus transfer work with TransLink?

Customers can transfer to AC Transit Local service from BART within 2.5 hours of exiting the BART system and receive a $0.25 discount on the AC Transit cash fare. When transferring to AC Transit Local route 74 from the Orinda BART station within 2.5 hours of exiting the BART system, your transfer is free. If cardholders transfer to a second AC Transit Local bus, the AC Transit transfer rules for local rides are applied. Cardholders are also entitled to a second $0.25 discount on the AC Transit cash fare (or another free transfer on AC Transit Local route 74 back to the Orinda BART station) within 72 hours of exiting the BART system.

I only have a local 31-Day pass on my card, but I'm going to San Francisco today. How do I upgrade?

In order to use your local 31-Day pass for Transbay service, you need to have e-cash on your card as a supplement for the higher fare. When you have e-cash on your TransLink card in addition to a local 31-Day pass, the difference between a local and Transbay fare will be taken out of your e-cash balance. This is one example of why having a combination of e-cash and a pass on your TransLink card is useful. If you only have a local 31-Day pass on your card and no e-cash, you cannot use your TransLink card on a Transbay bus. And you cannot use that local pass on your TransLink card to pay for just the local fare, and then pay cash for the balance due. Without e-cash on your card, you will have to pay the full Transbay fare in cash.

If I add a new 31-Day Transbay or local pass on my TransLink card before my current 31-Day pass expires, when does the new 31-Day pass become active?

If you add a new 31-Day pass in person, either through a retailer, Add Value Machine or ticket office, while the previous pass is still live on your TransLink card, the system will simply extend the expiration date of the current pass by 31 days. There will be no gap in between the dates of the existing and new pass. If you prefer there to be a gap in between the dates of your old pass expiring and the new one becoming active, make sure you purchase your new pass only after the old one expires. Then, the new pass will be activated when first used.

If you are signed up for Autoload or order your pass through the website or over the phone, TransLink will automatically load the new pass to your TransLink card the next time you tag your card after the original pass has expired. Keep in mind that your new pass will activate at the time you next tag your card. For example, if you have an AC Transit 31-day pass that expires on May 12th, the new pass will not become active until the first time the card is tagged AFTER May 12th. If you do not tag your card again until May 21st, the new pass will be activated with a start date of May 21st and an expiration date 31 days from the start date. This happens automatically, with no disruption in your ability to use TransLink.