Frequently Asked Questions

  • Do you have a negative balance on your card?

    • Employees must have a cash balance of $1.25 on their Clipper Card at all times in order to use their pass.

    • Employees can add cash to their card at any Caltrain station, Whole Foods, Walgreens, or other participating Clipper Card retail location.

    • Example: If an employee has a negative balance of -$0.80, they will need to add $2.05 ($0.80 + $1.25) to bring the cash value on their card to $1.25 in order for their pass to work.

    • Find a Clipper Card retail location near you to fix your negative balance.

    Did you use your pass last month?

    • If you did not use your pass last month, you may not have received a message to renew your pass, which may be why your card is not working.

    • Palo Alto TMA conducts a Clipper data dump around the 21st of each month. Anyone who has not used their pass by that time will not receive a message to renew their pass for the following month.

    Did you request the right pass?

    • Sometimes employees request the wrong bus pass, like a VTA pass instead.

    💡 Reminder: Employees must take transit at least 3 days per week every week that they work. This is a requirement to enroll in the Transit Pass Program.

    💡 Reminder: When commuting to/from work, please tag your card on the Clipper Card reader whenever you board the bus.

    💡 Reminder: If you’ve used your pass, look out for a text and/or email from us at the end of the month to renew your pass for the following month.

  • Did you hold the card over the validator for at least several seconds ?

    • When tapping quickly, it will give an error message.

    • Click here to see where to tag your Clipper card.

    Was the validator located on the Caltrain platform?

    • At shared stations, such as Mountain View, employees sometimes tap on the VTA reader instead of the Caltrain reader.

    Did you try another validator in case the one you originally tapped on wasn’t working?

    • Try another validator and let us know if you still run into any issues.

    • Click here to see where to tag your Clipper card for Caltrain.

    Have you used your GoPass in the last 180 days?

    • If you haven’t, it might be that the 180 day expiration date has passed. Please contact us so that we can ask Caltrain to reload your pass.

    How to use Caltrain informational video.

    💡 Reminder: Employees must take transit at least 3 days per week every week that they work. This is a requirement to enroll in the Transit Pass Program.

    💡 Reminder: Please remember to “tag on” at the Clipper Card reader when you board Caltrain and “tag off” when you exit Caltrain.

    💡 Reminder: Your Caltrain GoPass is good for the entire calendar year of 2025 (no monthly renewals required). You can use your pass for unlimited Caltrain trips throughout the entire Caltrain system.

  • Have you confirmed that you are using the correct pass?

    • Sometimes employees will accidentally use their Caltrain GoPass or a personal Clipper Card instead of their VTA SmartPass. All VTA SmartPasses have a PATMA logo and VTA logo on the back of the card.

    Did you request the right pass?

    • Sometimes employees request the wrong bus pass, like a SamTrans pass instead.

    💡 Reminder: Employees must take transit at least 3 days per week every week that they work. This is a requirement to enroll in the Transit Pass Program.

    💡 Reminder: When commuting to/from work, please tag your card on the Clipper Card reader whenever you board the bus.

    💡 Reminder: Your VTA SmartPass is good through June 2025 (no monthly renewals required). You can use your pass for unlimited trips on VTA rapid buses, local buses and light rail. Unfortunately, the pass does not cover express buses.

  • Caltrain GoPass

    💡 Reminder: If you are renewing your Caltrain GoPass, please note that it can take Caltrain 1-2 weeks to process your pass on the backend. The pass will show up on your existing card. You will NOT receive a new card. Please hold onto your current Clipper Card (DO NOT throw it away).

    💡 Reminder: If you are renewing your Caltrain GoPass, please note that it can take Caltrain 1-2 weeks to process your pass on the backend. The pass will show up on your existing card. You will NOT receive a new card. Please hold onto your current Clipper Card (DO NOT throw it away).

    SamTrans or Dumbarton Express

    • After the 9th of the month: It’s too late to purchase a pass for the same month. We will drop off your new pass for you at the end of the month, with a monthly pass on it for the following month.

      • Example: Say you applied on June 12th. Since it is after the 9th of the month, we will drop off your new pass at your workplace at the very end of June (such as June 29th or 30th). This pass will have a monthly pass on it for the month of July.

    • Before the 9th of the month: It’s possible we haven’t had a chance to get to it yet, or are still working on processing your pass. Please note we’re a staff of two people who work limited hours. We really appreciate your patience and understanding. We will drop off your pass as soon as we have finished processing it.

    VTA SmartPass

    • It’s possible we haven’t had a chance to get to it yet, or are still working on processing your pass. Please note we’re a staff of two people who work limited hours. We really appreciate your patience and understanding. We will drop off your pass as soon as we have finished processing it.

  • This depends on the type of pass requested and the time of the month.

    SamTrans or Dumbarton Express

    If an employee requested a SamTrans or Dumbarton Express pass before the 10th of the month, then as soon as we are able to process the pass, we will try to drop it off at the employee’s workplace.

    • If it is after the 10th of the month, we will process the pass for the following month. Unfortunately, after a certain point in the month, we are unable to purchase monthly passes for that month through Clipper’s system.

    VTA SmartPass

    • If an employee requested a VTA SmartPass, then as soon as we are able to process the pass, we will try to drop it off at the employee’s workplace.

    Caltrain GoPass

    • If an employee requested a Caltrain GoPass, they must also complete the Caltrain GoPass Survey Form, required by Caltrain. Once received, it can take Caltrain up to 2 weeks to process the pass. Once ready, we will drop off the pass at the employee’s workplace.

    Note: Palo Alto TMA (PATMA) is a team of two part-time staff members who work limited hours, with several hundred employees enrolled across our various programs. We try to get through all new pass requests as soon as we are able to. We appreciate your interest in our programs and your support in keeping PATMA thriving. Thank you in advance for being patient with us!

  • Caltrain GoPass or VTA SmartPass

    • The Caltrain GoPass and the VTA SmartPass are special cards with passes loaded on the backend. These cards have no cash value (i.e., no funds or no balance), but this is not an issue because the pass is activated on the backend. These passes differ from monthly passes, which require a minimum balance of $1.25 to remain on the card at all times.

  • SamTrans or Dumbarton Express

    • You might have a negative balance if you tapped your card on the wrong reader. At shared stations, employees sometimes tap on the wrong reader.

    • You might have a negative balance if you don’t have a transit pass on your card, and you tried to use your Clipper Card. Without a pass, cash value will be deducted from your card.

    • You have a SamTrans pass, but used your card on an express bus. Unfortunately, your bus pass will only work on rapid and local (not express) buses. Thus, cash value will be deducted from your card.

    VTA SmartPass

    • You have a VTA SmartPass, but used your card on an express bus. Unfortunately, your bus pass will only work on local and rapid (not express) buses. Thus, cash value will be deducted from your card.

  • Palo Alto TMA conducts a Clipper data dump around the 21st of each month. Anyone who has not used their monthly bus pass by that time will not receive a message to renew their pass for the following month.

  • Unfortunately, we are a team of two part-time staff who work very limited hours, and we have several hundred employees enrolled in our programs. We try to get to all messages as soon as we are able to. We thank you in advance for your patience and for helping our programs flourish!

  • If this is your first time, we will replace your pass for you. However, we recommend keeping the replacement pass in a safe place. Per our Board’s policy, we are unable to replace lost or stolen passes a second time.

  • Your card is registered under our account (Palo Alto TMA). This allows us to issue passes to our employees, as well as troubleshoot any pass issues. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to register the card in your name, as it is already registered under our account.

  • Absolutely! Just let us know what pass you need if you are interested in using VTA, SamTrans, or Dumbarton Express. If you need a Caltrain GoPass, however, you will need to re-register and also complete the Caltrain GoPass survey form, which is required by Caltrain.

  • You likely requested both a Caltrain pass and a VTA pass in your application. The VTA pass is a separate pass from the Caltrain pass. It will have the Palo Alto TMA logo on the back, as well as VTA’s logo.

  • Since we do not have a physical office, there is no location where employees can pick up their passes.

  • Unfortunately, due to cost and security reasons, we are unable to mail passes to employees.

  • Unfortunately, we do not have a physical office.

  • No, you cannot let someone else use your pass or give away your pass. Your pass is to be used by you and only you, for your commute to and from work. If found to be used by anyone else such as a family member or friend, your pass may be terminated.