In yet another unexpected impact from global supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bay Area commuters are now facing a shortage of plastic Clipper cards used for public transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said.

Clipper card users are being encouraged to put their card information on the mobile app instead of a physical plastic card until the shortage is resolved. Users who choose this option will get the $3 new card fee waived as well.

BART, which is the largest distributer of plastic Clipper cards, will be making a push to move people to the apps or “old style” paper tickets.

The shortage is expected to continue for several months, BART said, but customers who use fare-discounted cards such as seniors, youth, lower-income adults and people with disabilities “need not worry” about dwindling inventories, the agency said. These cards are made from different materials and are distributed directly by Clipper.

Online Clipper apps can be accessed via Google Play, Apple iPhone 8 or Apple Watch Series 3.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.