Early Bird Express

BART offers alternative bus service called the Early Bird Express for weekday service before BART opens.

Due to low bus ridership on several routes, limited funding, and increasing demand for bus drivers from partner agencies, BART will make a series of service reductions to the Early Bird Express service in 2024 as outlined below. The first change will occur on April 28, 2024. and then more changes will take place effective June 10, 2024.

BART will retain eight trips that serve 90% of riders and will eliminate seven trips, impacting 10% of riders.

Service as of March 2024

Early Bird Express Bus Service Map PDF

Early Bird Express Bus Map Effective March 2024

 

The schedule chart below reflects service as of March 2024:
PDF schedule chart.

Route

Origin/Destination

Operator

Trip

701Pittsburg/Bay Point to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:53am
4:05am
4:15am**
702Pleasant Hill to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit4:04am
4:24am**
703Dublin/Pleasanton to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:52am***
704El Cerrito del Norte to Salesforce Transit CenterGolden Gate4:20am
706Bay Fair to Salesforce Transit Center via FruitvaleAC Transit4:01am
4:21am**
707Fremont to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:50am**
709Antioch to Pittsburg/Bay PointTri Delta Transit3:25am**
3:40am*
713Salesforce Transit Center to San Francisco Int’l AirportSamTrans4:01am/ 4:55am
714Salesforce Transit Center to Daly CityMuni4:05am/ 4:45am

*To be eliminated beginning April 28, 2024
**To be eliminated beginning June 10, 2024
*** On June 10, 2024, this bus will depart at 3:45am and will also serve as the 706 at Bay Fair to Fruitvale to Salesforce Transit Center

Service as April 28, 2024

On April 28, 2024 the 3:40am trip of Tri Delta Transit's route 709 from Antioch to Pittsburg/Bay Point will be eliminated. Riders have the option to take the 3:25am 709 bus or the 4:49am BART train leaving Antioch. Note, on June 10, 2024 the 3:25am 709 trip will be eliminated and impacted riders will need to drive or get a ride to the 701 AC Transit bus serving Pittsburg/Bay Point to Salesforce Transit Center at 3:53am or 4:05am.

The April 28, 2024 map remains the same as the March map.

The schedule chart below reflects service as of April 28, 2024.
View a PDF of the April 28, 2024 Schedule Chart.

Route

Origin/Destination

Operator

Trip

701Pittsburg/Bay Point to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:53am
4:05am
4:15am*
702Pleasant Hill to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit4:04am
4:24am*
703Dublin/Pleasanton to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:52am**
704El Cerrito del Norte to Salesforce Transit CenterGolden Gate4:20am
706Bay Fair to Salesforce Transit Center via FruitvaleAC Transit4:01am
4:21am*
707Fremont to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:50am*
709Antioch to Pittsburg/Bay PointTri Delta Transit3:25am*
713Salesforce Transit Center to San Francisco Int’l AirportSamTrans4:01am/ 4:55am
714Salesforce Transit Center to Daly CityMuni4:05am/ 4:45am

*To be eliminated beginning June 10, 2024
** Beginning June 10, 2024, this bus will depart at 3:45am and will also serve as the 706 at Bay Fair to Fruitvale to Salesforce Transit Center
 

Service as of June 10, 2024

On June 10, 2024 the following trips will be eliminated:

Eliminated RouteOrigin/DestinationOperatorTimeAlternatives
701Pittsburg/Bay Point to SalesforceAC Transit4:15am

4:05am 701 bus

4:54am BART train

702Pleasant Hill to SalesforceAC Transit4:24am

4:04am 702 bus

4:50am BART train

706Bay Fair to Salesforce via 19th St. AC Transit4:21am

4:01am 706 bus

4:45am BART train

707Fremont to SalesforceAC Transit3:50am4:55am BART train
709Antioch to Pittsburg/Bay PointTri Delta Transit3:25amDrive to 701 buses at Pittsburg/Bay Point

Early Bird Express Bus Map Effective June 10, 2024 PDF

 

Early Bird Express Bus Map effective June 10, 2024

 

The schedule chart below reflects service effective June 10, 2024.
View the PDF schedule chart for service effective June 10, 2024.

Route

Origin/Destination

Operator

Trip

701Pittsburg/Bay Point to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit3:53am
4:05am
702Pleasant Hill to Salesforce Transit CenterAC Transit4:04am
703Dublin/Pleasanton to Salesforce Transit Center via 706 Bay Fair/FruitvaleAC Transit3:45am
704El Cerrito del Norte to Salesforce Transit CenterGolden Gate4:20am
706Bay Fair to Salesforce Transit Center via FruitvaleAC Transit4:01am
713Salesforce Transit Center to San Francisco Int’l AirportSamTrans4:01am/ 4:55am
714Salesforce Transit Center to Daly CityMuni4:05am/ 4:45am

Feedback and Trip Planning Help by Phone or Email

Phone operators at BART's Transit Information Center are available Monday-Friday, 8 am-6 pm at 510-465-BART (2278). Operators can help riders plan their trips and gather feedback. Riders can also send an email message online here.

Parking

Because BART stations don't open until 5 am, parking during the 4 am hour can not be paid for inside of the stations. To allow Early Bird Express riders to continue to pay for parking between 3:30 am and 5:30 am, BART offers Early Bird/Non-BART Parking through the official BART app.

Please check www.bart.gov/parking for details.

Where to Park

Park in the FEE area of BART stations served by Early Bird Express bus service. Do not park in the PERMIT/RESERVED area. There is ample parking in the fee area during the 4 am hour.

Payment

Five Bay Area bus agencies operate this network. Riders who use the Early Bird Express can pay with either cash or a Clipper card. When using Clipper to pay for the Early Bird Express fare, the payment must be made with money added as cash value to the card. Riders cannot pay for Early Bird Express service using a Clipper purse loaded with High Value Discount (HVD) tickets. For trips taken on Golden Gate Transit, there is a tag on/tag off system for Clipper. All other operators are tag on only.  Passengers riding Golden Gate Transit operated buses must remember to tag off when exiting, otherwise they will be charged the maximum fare in the system. LEO passes are not valid on Early Bird Express buses.


History of Early Bird Express

On February 11, 2019, BART shifted its start of service from 4am to 5am on weekdays to allow extra time for a critical seismic retrofit of the Transbay Tube. As that project has been completed, a 5am opening is needed for BART's project to implement Communications Based Train Control

Prior to moving to a 5am opening in 2019, about 2,900 riders entered our system during the 4am hour.

An alternative bus service plan called the Early Bird Express was developed.