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Go Pass/Eco Pass

The 2016 Go Pass is available for eligible commuters

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About Caltrain Go Pass and VTA Eco Pass

The Go Pass, available FREE to eligible hospital and university employees, and at a subsidized price for eligible graduate students and postdocs, allows unlimited travel on Caltrain between all zones.

The Eco Pass, available FREE to eligible hospital and university employees, allows unlimited travel on the following transit services:

Both the Go Pass and the Eco Pass are valid for the full calendar year, seven days a week. Stanford purchases these passes primarily for your commute to Stanford; however, there is no restriction on their use. You can use them to travel free to a Giants' game, to get to the airport, or to skip exorbitant parking rates while spending the day in the city.

Since Stanford pays for passes for all eligible employees, regardless of whether or not employees use them, it does not save the university or hospital any money if you return or do not request your transit passes. So, go ahead and request them – and use them as little or as often as you like.

Eligibility

Caltrain Go Pass

For graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and university and hospital employees residing off Stanford property and within typical commuting distances.

Find out if you are eligible using our automated eligibility checker.

Eligible Not eligible
  • Off-campus graduate students (pilot program eligibility Sept. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2016)
  • Postdoctoral scholars (pilot program eligibility Sept. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2016)
  • University and hospital employees who meet all of the following conditions:
    • work 20 or more hours per week
    • receive regular Stanford University or Hospital/LPCH benefits
    • are at Stanford primarily for employment
    • residence address is not on Stanford property (outside of the 94304, 94305, and 94309 ZIP codes*)
    • residence address is within a typical commuting range of Stanford's main campus (i.e., Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo counties)
    • are not in a classification listed under "Not eligible"
  • undergraduate students
  • SLAC employees
  • temporary and casual employees, contractors, and visiting scholars
  • employees working less than 20 hours per week
  • employees on leave of absence
  • anyone whose residence address in the HR database has a 94304, 94305, 94309, or blank ZIP code*
  • employees whose residence ZIP code and/or worksite is/are not within typical commuting range of Stanford's main campus (e.g., outside of California, Southern California, Hopkins Marine Station, etc.)

*Proof of residence off Stanford property will not be accepted for ineligible (94304, 94305, 94309) or blank ZIP codes in the P&TS database, and no exceptions can be made.

VTA Eco Pass

For university and hospital employees residing off Stanford property and within typical commuting distances.

Eligible Not eligible currently
University and hospital employees who meet all of the following conditions:
  • work 20 or more hours per week
  • receive regular university or hospital benefits
  • are at Stanford primarily for employment
  • residence address is not on Stanford property (outside of the 94304, 94305, and 94309 ZIP codes*)
  • residence address is within a typical commuting range of Stanford's main campus (i.e., Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo counties)
  • are not in a classification listed under "Not eligible"
  • students
  • postdoctoral scholars
  • SLAC employees
  • temporary and casual employees, contractors, and visiting scholars
  • employees working less than 20 hours per week
  • employees on leave of absence
  • anyone whose residence address in the HR database has a 94304, 94305, 94309, or blank ZIP code*
  • employees whose residence ZIP code and/or worksite is/are not within typical commuting range of Stanford's main campus (e.g., outside of California, Southern California, Hopkins Marine Station, etc.)

*Proof of residence off Stanford property will not be accepted for ineligible (94304, 94305, 94309) or blank ZIP codes in the P&TS database, and no exceptions can be made.

How to get them

Caltrain Go Pass

To obtain your Caltrain Go Pass, simply bring your valid Stanford ID into our office at 340 Bonair Siding, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A customer service representative will affix your pass (a non-transferable sticker) to your Stanford ID.

Eligible commuters must stop by P&TS in person to receive their passes. We do not send Go Passes by mail, nor can we allow a friend or colleague to pick up your pass for you.

VTA Eco Pass Clipper card

(Updated Jan. 23, 2015)

Beginning with its 2015 pass, VTA transitioned the Eco Pass from a sticker affixed to employee ID cards to an Eco Pass loaded onto a Clipper card, which must be printed with the name and photo of the eligible employee.

Clipper is the all-in-one transit card for the Bay Area that keeps track of passes, tickets, and cash value loaded onto it. Stanford commuters will be able to load cash value or transit fares from many other Bay Area transit providers onto their VTA Eco Pass Clipper card.

P&TS produced free Eco Pass Clipper cards and mailed them to commuting employees who were eligible as of Dec. 2014.

  • Eligible university (including School of Medicine) employees: You are not required to do anything at this time. If you were eligible as of Dec. 2014, but have not yet received an Eco Pass Clipper card in the mail, you can request one at the P&TS office.
  • Eligible hospital employees:
    • Stanford Health Care employees with hire dates on or after Nov. 10, 2014: P&TS has your photo and is working on producing your Eco Pass Clipper card and mailing it to your home address. Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery.
    • Stanford Health Care employees with hire dates before Nov. 10, 2014, AND Stanford Children’s Health employees: Submit a headshot photo of yourself using any internet-connected device at transportation.stanford.edu/vtaclipper. Allow 2 to 4 weeks after photo submission for delivery to your home address on file.
    If you need your Eco Pass Clipper card sooner than the delivery windows indicated, please visit the P&TS office.

Instructions on use will be provided with the new Eco Pass Clipper card. Refer to How to Use Your New Eco Pass Clipper Card (PDF) for more information.

If you already have a Clipper card

To request a transfer of cash value from one card to another, wait until you have received your Eco Pass Clipper card, then contact the Clipper Customer Service Center at 877.878.8883 (TTY/TDD 711 or 800.735.2929) to request they transfer your cash value to the new card. There is a $5 fee for this service. Note that only cash value can be directly transferred.

Monthly passes and multi-ride tickets, including the VTA Eco Pass, cannot be transferred. If you have any monthly passes or multi-ride tickets on your current Clipper card that you are purchasing through our pre-tax payroll deduction program, they will need to be canceled on the existing card before they can be transferred to your new Eco Pass Clipper card. Please wait until you receive your Eco Pass Clipper card to cancel any existing transit orders. Questions about recurring transit orders, including transfer requests, can be sent to tammiem@stanford.edu.

Notice regarding the Monterey-San Jose Express

(Updated July 29, 2015)

Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) now requires that a separate card be shown as proof of payment by Eco Pass riders.

To request the MST special service card, eligible employees must submit a headshot photo, which will be printed with their name on the MST card. Photos can be submitted online at transportation.stanford.edu/mstcard. The MST special service card is free to eligible commuters.

How to park at Caltrain

Most Caltrain stations have parking available for transit riders, and all stations south of the San Jose Diridon Station offer free parking.

Caltrain sells daily permits at Caltrain stations (purchase through pay machine on platform) for occasional riders, but if you’re a regular rider, you may consider purchasing a monthly Caltrain parking permit.

Monthly Caltrain parking permits for the current month are available at P&TS until the 15th of every month. You can purchase one over the counter at P&TS, or sign up to receive ongoing pre-tax monthly parking permits by mail (eligible employees paid through payroll only). Read the payroll deduction page for more information.

Download the Pre-Tax Payroll Deduction for Commuting application to purchase your monthly Caltrain parking permit on an ongoing basis, and send it to our office at 340 Bonair Siding, MC: 7255, or fax it to us at 650.724.8676. Applications must be received by the 9th of the current month to set up Caltrain parking permit distribution for the following month.

More information, including pricing, is available on Caltrain’s website.

If your pass is lost, stolen, or damaged

If your pass is lost, stolen, or damaged, please fill out and submit the Lost/Damaged claim form or Stolen claim form. Even if you don't plan to use your Go Pass or Eco Pass, please report your ID and pass as stolen or lost to protect yourself in the event of fraudulent use of your identification and pass.

Stolen passes

If your Eco Pass or Go Pass was stolen, we encourage you to report it to our office regardless of whether you plan to replace the stolen pass(es). You may also want to file a police report. Reporting it stolen helps clear your name in the event your pass is used fraudulently.

If your pass was stolen for the first time and you provide a copy of the police report to our office, the replacement cost for both the Eco Pass and Go Pass is free.

The report must explicitly state that your Go Pass or Eco Pass was stolen, and we must have an actual copy of the report, not just the report number. Note that filing a false police report is against the law (Penal Code 148.5).

If your pass was stolen, but you choose not to file a police report or if your report does not list the Go or Eco Pass among the items stolen, the replacement cost is $5 for the Eco Pass, and $190 for the Go Pass.

If your Eco Pass or Go Pass is stolen a second time in the same year, the replacement fee for the Eco Pass (with or without a police report) is $25. The replacement fee for the Go Pass (with or without a police report) is $380. There are no Go Pass replacements after the second incident.

If your pass was stolen, but you choose not to file a police report, the replacement cost is $25 for the Eco Pass, and $190 for the Go Pass.

Lost passes

To replace a pass you've lost, the first-time replacement cost is $5 for the Eco Pass, and $190 for the Go Pass.

If you lose your pass twice, the replacement fee is $25 for the Eco Pass, and $380 for the Go Pass. All subsequent Eco Pass replacements are $25. There are no Go Pass replacements after the second incident. There are no refunds for passes that are found after being reported lost or stolen.

Damaged passes

If your pass wears with use over time, your ID is damaged, or you replace your ID (e.g., name change), you may return your pass (the Go Pass will need to still be affixed to your Stanford ID) and receive another at no charge for up to two replacements. For a third Go Pass replacement, the fee is $190. An Eco Pass cannot be replaced for a third time.

Replacing a damaged pass. If the pass itself has been damaged, a P&TS customer service representative will examine the pass for fraudulent activity, retain or remove it (if it passes inspection), and issue you a new one.

Replacing a GO Pass due to ID replacement. If your Stanford ID has been damaged or replaced, P&TS will accept the damaged or previous ID (with the GO Pass still affixed), and affix a new pass to your new ID. You must forfeit your damaged/previous ID.

Under no circumstances will P&TS accept Go Passes that are no longer affixed to your ID, nor will we accept Go Passes or Eco Passes that appear to have been subject to fraudulent activity.

Consequences of transferring the Go Pass and/or Eco Pass

Fraudulent use and transfer of the Go Pass and/or Eco Pass is a serious violation of the program. Stanford affiliates who are caught transferring their Go Pass and/or Eco Pass and individuals who accept a Go Pass and/or Eco Pass that was not issued to them, will face confiscation and potential fines up to $250. In addition, those affiliated with Stanford will immediately forfeit Commute Club privileges and the privilege of receiving future passes and prizes through Parking & Transportation Services.

Need help getting started?

If you need assistance planning your trip, let us help you find the best route - from your front door to campus. Request a free alternative transportation commute plan with our do-it-yourself or custom commute planning service, or by emailing us at commuteclub@stanford.edu.