San Francisco's public transport network partially shut-down after bosses forgot to pay the internet bill

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 15:53, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 15:54, 5 June 2026 San Francisco's public transportation network experienced a nearly–30 hour outage over an unpaid Internet bill. Most riders use a Clipper card to enter the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), but on May 18, they abruptly found that the fare–paying platform, operated by Cubic Transportation Systems, was effectively unusable. That was because riders were unable to add money to their cards at ticket stations due to the 27-hour outage, causing massive frustrations for commuters and huge delays around the Bay Area. During a Monday meeting of the Clipper executive board, Cubic Transportation Systems COO Lalit Singh acknowledged that the partial shutdown was because the company had not made a payment to AT&T. 'That's when we figured out that we have multiple accounts with AT&T,' Singh said, according to KQED. 'On one of the accounts, the payments were not made, and we couldn't find where the circuits, which are in support of the BART system, were because they were not in our account system.' Singh explained that the outage happened because an AT&T network circuit that works between BART's data center and Cubic's stopped working. But his explanation was blasted by BART general manager Robert Powers, who accused Cubic of having 'zero credibility.' 'Cubic not paying their bill? Are you kidding me?' Powers said. 'That's ridiculous.' Bay Area riders were unable to add money to their fare cards, known as Clipper cards, at ticket stations due to a 27-hour outage Lalit Singh, the Cubic Transportation Systems COO, said the May 18 outage happened because an AT&T network circuit that works between BART's data center and Cubic's stopped working Robert Powers, the BART general manager, said that the rapid transit agency was 'so done' with Cubic and called the reason behind the partial shutdown ridiculous 'BART is so done with Cubic right now,' he added. Powers also claimed that his board members were asking him how much longer he would 'take this.' He added that he was 'beside myself,' claiming that Cubic's shortcomings were affecting his ability to deliver 'quality service,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 'You're getting between me and my short–term goals, and that's not a good place to be,' Powers said during Monday's meeting. 'There's no good news here.' At a later point, after Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's general manager Carolyn Gonot asked how Cubic would ensure that their systems ran smoothly in the future, Powers reiterated his frustration. 'How about paying their bills?' Powers said. 'How about starting with that?' His anger was echoed by Oakland resident Bryan Culbertson, according to KQED. Culbertson urged the Clipper executive board to cut ties with Cubic 'so that we have a future where we're not having these meetings over and over and over again of Cubic failing transit riders.' Riders were told to use the Clipper app, digital wallets, contactless cards and online accounts during last month's outage Cubic is also being criticized for failing to resolve glitches as it tries to transition to a new generation fare-payment system As the May 18 outage was addressed, riders were told to use the Clipper app, digital wallets, contactless cards, and online accounts, per the San Francisco Chronicle. Another option for riders to load up money on their cards was going to a retailer, such as Walgreens. BART issued an alert directing riders who were adding funds at vending machines to hold their Clipper cards at the reader instead of tapping them in order to finish the transaction, per the outlet. Cubic has also faced criticism for missing a May 30 deadline to resolve the ongoing glitches to the Bay Area transit network. Since last December, the Clipper executive board has looked to implement its new generation fare–payment system also known as Clipper 2.0. That will allow riders to use contactless credit and debit cards and mobile cards throughout the entire Bay Area network. However, the necessary migration for that will not happen until 'at least a week' after June 19 now, according to Singh. Powers said Cubic had 'zero credibility' and said the company was affecting his ability to delvier quality service Powers said during Monday's meeting that BART board members had asked him how much longer he would 'take this' Andrew Fremier, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's executive director, insisted that the new generation system had 'come a long way.' Fremier said that more than 45 percent of transit fares were now being paid using Clipper 2.0 accounts. However, Clipper executive board member Denis Mulligan said Cubic was hurting the reputation of local public transportation. 'We've burned down the house with our customers and their impressions of all of us,' Mulligan said, per the San Francisco Chronicle. 'Our customers are experiencing situations that aren't good, and they don't know you, but they know us, and they know how to find us,' he added. The Daily Mail has reached out to Cubic, Powers, AT&T and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, of which the Clipper executive board is an interagency committee of, for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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