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BART sets ridership record

381,200 BART riders bolster U.S. Census report on Bay Area public transit ridership

In a year of high ridership, BART continues to prove that records are made to be broken.

BART carried a record 381,200 passengers yesterday, Wednesday, June 13, 2007, easily surpassing the mark set just over six weeks ago. On Tuesday, May 1, 2007, BART carried 375,200 riders as the Bay Area dealt with the collapse of the MacArthur Maze.

Yesterday's high ridership was due to more pleasant circumstances: the Police concert at McAfee Coliseum and the Giants interleague game against Toronto helped push a busy Wednesday into record territory. Wednesdays are typically the busiest days of the week for BART.

"I think it's wonderful that Bay Area residents are flocking to BART in record numbers. Clearly the message that BART is a better option than driving in gridlocked traffic is getting across," said BART Board of Directors President Lynette Sweet.

CENSUS BUREAU SHOWS PUBLIC TRANSIT IMPORTANT TO BAY AREA
A U.S. Census Bureau report released yesterday showed just how much the Bay Area relies on public transportation like BART.

The Census Bureau report finds 32.7% of workers in San Francisco use public transportation, third highest in the nation's 50 biggest cities. Only New York and Washington, D.C. rank higher. Oakland also had one of the highest rates of public transportation use in the country, with 16.5% of Oaklanders using public transit.

A YEAR OF RECORDS
In 2007 BART has seen three of its five highest ridership days in history and its highest ridership week. The week following the MacArthur Maze collapse, BART carried 2,133,000 passengers.

BART'S BIGGEST RIDERSHIP DAYS

  • June 13, 2007 -- 381, 200
  • May 1, 2007 -- 375, 200
  • Oct. 4, 2000 -- 374,900
  • May 3, 2007 -- 374, 200
  • Oct. 3, 2000 -- 366,800
  • Average weekday : 340,000