VTA Reduced Fares and Clipper START

Youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and income-qualified adults can receive discounted VTA and regional transit fares.

Eligible VTA reduced-fare or Clipper START rider

Entitlement facts

Benefit type: Government benefit. A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route. Taxonomy definition →
What it unlocks: Published youth, senior, and disability fares plus a 50% single-ride discount for approved Clipper START participants.
Who qualifies: Eligible VTA reduced-fare or Clipper START rider
Requirements: Meet the applicable age, disability, or Clipper START income criteria and obtain the required Youth, Senior, RTC/Clipper Access, or Clipper START card.
How to activate: Apply for the appropriate Clipper credential, load value if needed, and tag it when boarding or transferring.
Cost basis: Variable by provider or eligibility. The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.
Cost and fees: Approved riders pay the reduced fare; card replacement and nonparticipating service terms may apply.
Geography: US, San Jose, California
Personalization: Published eligibility is not described as individually targeted.

EVIDENCE / 2 SOURCES

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

Check the provider's final terms immediately before applying, depositing funds, spending, or changing a paid relationship.

01VTA Faresprovider↗02VTA Clipperprovider↗

MACHINE RECORD

{
  "id": "san-jose-vta-reduced-fares",
  "name": "VTA Reduced Fares and Clipper START",
  "provider": "Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority",
  "entitlement_type": "government-benefit",
  "entitlement_type_label": "Government benefit",
  "entitlement_type_context": {
    "definition": "A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.",
    "domain": "public-benefits",
    "archetype": "direct-program",
    "agent_instruction": "Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply."
  },
  "summary": "Youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and income-qualified adults can receive discounted VTA and regional transit fares.",
  "benefit": {
    "description": "Published youth, senior, and disability fares plus a 50% single-ride discount for approved Clipper START participants.",
    "estimated_value_usd": null
  },
  "discovery": {
    "focus": "public-service",
    "has_estimated_dollar_value": false
  },
  "access": {
    "relationships": [
      "Eligible VTA reduced-fare or Clipper START rider"
    ],
    "requirements": "Meet the applicable age, disability, or Clipper START income criteria and obtain the required Youth, Senior, RTC/Clipper Access, or Clipper START card.",
    "activation": "Apply for the appropriate Clipper credential, load value if needed, and tag it when boarding or transferring.",
    "cost_basis": "varies",
    "cost_basis_label": "Variable by provider or eligibility",
    "cost_basis_context": {
      "classification": "variable",
      "definition": "The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.",
      "agent_instruction": "Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.",
      "variation_patterns": [
        "bounded price range",
        "provider-set price",
        "income-based sliding scale",
        "coverage or service-dependent cost sharing",
        "partial subsidy",
        "directory of programs with different terms"
      ],
      "does_not_mean": [
        "universally free",
        "cost information was necessarily omitted"
      ]
    },
    "fees": "Approved riders pay the reduced fare; card replacement and nonparticipating service terms may apply.",
    "personalized": false,
    "regions": [
      "US",
      "San Jose, California"
    ],
    "expires": null
  },
  "status": "verified",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-04",
  "claim_url": "https://www.vta.org/go/fares/clipper",
  "source_url": "https://www.vta.org/go/fares",
  "source": {
    "primary_url": "https://www.vta.org/go/fares",
    "evidence": [
      {
        "source": "VTA Fares",
        "url": "https://www.vta.org/go/fares",
        "kind": "provider",
        "checked_at": "2026-08-04"
      },
      {
        "source": "VTA Clipper",
        "url": "https://www.vta.org/go/fares/clipper",
        "kind": "provider",
        "checked_at": "2026-08-04"
      }
    ]
  },
  "parent": null,
  "coverage": {
    "level": "local",
    "family": "reduced-fare-transit",
    "jurisdiction": "San Jose, California",
    "maturity": "direct"
  },
  "web_url": "/benefits/san-jose-vta-reduced-fares",
  "taxonomy": {
    "version": "1.0",
    "url": "/api/v1/taxonomy"
  }
}

View JSON ↗

VTA Reduced Fares and Clipper START

Entitlement facts

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

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