How To Use a Commuter Check Card to Purchase a Caltrain Monthly Pass

Posted June 27th, 2011 in Observations by Greg Bayer
                     

Warning

Before I start, let me recommend that you don’t try this. The potential savings you gain from using pre-tax Commuter Check cards likely won’t be worth the pain of actually trying to buy something with them. Return the cards to your employer and ask them to enroll in another option for funding your commute costs pre-tax!

Update: The Autoload program via Clipper works great. Instead of buying a pass in person with a commuter check card, you tag on/off once at the beginning of the month to load a new pass.

Goal

Use two Commuter Check cards issued by an employer (each containing $100) to purchase a zone 1-3 monthly Caltrain pass on a Clipper card (for $179).
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