QUICK TIP: BART Week 2020: What's an excursion ticket?

Tuesday, February 25, 2020
QUICK TIP: BART Week 2020: What's an excursion ticket?
You enter a BART station's gates, but need to turn around and exit again. Here's why that move will cost you.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- You enter a BART station, then you remember you left something in your car, so you head back out. Do you know how much that mistake is going to cost you? Michael Finney has another 7 On Your Side Quick Tip for you!

Going back out, even after just a couple of moments, will cost you $6.20 if you're a Clipper Card holder, and $6.70 if you use a paper ticket.

Now I know what you're thinking: Wait a second, BART charges by mileage and I just left where I started, it shouldn't have cost me anything.

But BART has an "excursion ticket." An excursion ticket allows you to drive around on BART, without getting out anywhere, for up to three hours and then go back to your original station and leave. And then that's when you're charged that $6.50.

But why do they have an excursion fare? They have it because back in the day when BART was brand new, there were a lot of taxpayers that wanted to see where their money was going. So BART set up the excursion fare.

So what do you do if you go in and you gotta go back out?

Go to the station agent. They're trained with this, they'll let you out, and it won't cost you a dime.

The only thing you have to do is ask.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

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