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I have had the same issue in the past in the Bay area. I finally got a clipper card a few weeks ago (I live in MV typically walk to work). Yesterday, I was in front of a VTA in San Jose trying to get back to MV. The people around were a bit shady, and there was a pretty long wait for the train - of course .. I called an Uber, which cost a few bucks more. Still waiting to use that clipper card.

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Yes, clipper card can fix the problem for locals. But, temporary visitors/tourists to the area may not want to get such a card.

The Oyster card in London is the only way to pay. Pay stations can vend cards, but they need to be distributed more for this to work with Clipper.

This would be incorrect as contactless payment cards (e.g. via Apple Pay) are widely supported in London. [1]

[1] https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ways-to-pay/whats-the-...

If you make it easy enough and obvious enough to figure out how to buy a card and don't impose a significant card purchase fee, I think a lot of temporary visitors are willing to do it. The problem is when transit agencies don't make the process of obtaining a card as straightforward as buying a single-trip ticket.

Personally, I've got around a dozen transit cards spanning at least six countries...

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