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On Monday, Sept. 18, BART is pleased to announce the official start of the One Book One BART Fall ‘23 Book Club. The novel strategy for rider and employee engagement follows on the heels of our first book club, which debuted last Spring with Hua Hsu’s Pulitzer-winning Stay True. 

Join us this Wednesday, Sept. 20, 4pm to 6pm, at Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza for our our free club kickoff event. Win exclusive merch on our prize wheel, make buttons with BART staff, play games with Half Price Books, and learn more about BART's book club and other programs. More info below. 

This fall – from September 18 to early November – we’ll be reading On the Rooftop (Ecco) by Oakland-based author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. On the Rooftop is a novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with their own aspirations, set against a backdrop of a gentrifying 1950s Fillmore District in San Francisco.  

Reading while you ride has long been one of the great benefits of taking BART. And at BARTable, we know that the Bay Area is home to an amazing legion of readers, writers, libraries, independent bookstores, and publishers – many of which are accessible by BART. With One Book One BART, we want to celebrate this region’s vibrant literary culture and encourage our reading riders to get on BART and get to know one another.  

For the fall club, we are also further engaging BART employees with exclusive employee-only programming, including roadshows to stations and BART shops/yards and events at BART Headquarters. 

ALL THINGS ONE BOOK ONE BART: bart.gov/bookclub 

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? IDEAS? Email [email protected]    

Event Schedule 

The Fall club will feature a series of exciting events that are free and open to the public (for detailed event information, including what to expect and registration, visit bart.gov/bookclub): 

Mon, Sept. 18: The One Book One BART Fall ‘23 Club officially starts 

Wed, Sept. 20, 4pm-6pm: One Book One BART Kickoff Event at Downtown Berkeley Station Plaza  

• Meet BART staff and Half Price Books at Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (free and open to the public, whether you’re entering the BART station or not) 
• What to expect:  
  • Exclusive BART and book club merch giveaways when you spin our prize wheel – including the coveted One Book One BART t-shirt and free copies of On the Rooftop  
  • Family-friendly activities with BART and HPB, including button making and games! 
  • Information about the book club and other BART programs

Sat. Oct 21, 1pm-3pm: Train Read-In from Richmond Station to Daly City Station (55 min) 

• Join BART staff for this season’s Train Read-In – a 55-minute ride starting at Richmond Station and ending at Daly City Station. Feel free to hop on along the way! Check back for full schedule. 
• What to expect: 
  • Book club-style small group discussions 
  • Trivia (with exclusive prizes!)  
  • Raffle 
  • More! 

Wed, Nov. 1, noon to 130pm: Author Talk with Margaret Wilkerson Sexton at BART Headquarters in Downtown Oakland (2150 Webster St, Oakland)

• On the Rooftop author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton stops by BART HQ for a moderated author talk and Q&A.  
• Event will be livestreamed – check bart.gov/bookclub for link and registration. 

Where to Find the Book 

BARTable will be running a sweepstakes for the One Book One BART grand prize on our Contests and Deals page. We'll also be running social media contests on our Instagram. Keep up with One Book One BART contest announcements by signing up for the book club mailing list and the BARTable This Week newsletter. 

We encourage riders to purchase the book from our independent bookstore partners below or check out a copy from local libraries, including One Book One BART partner the San Francisco Public Library. On the Rooftop is also available on the free Libby app and hoopla through your local library. For the audiobook, visit your local library’s online catalogue or purchase the book on Audible or audiobooks.com.     

Purchase On the Rooftop from a One Book One BART partner for a 20% discount: We've partnered with the following BARTable bookstores, all located within a mile of a BART station, to offer a 20% discount on the title when you show your Clipper card (Clipper on your phone works, too!): 

• Moe’s Books – Downtown Berkeley Station  

• Banter Bookshop – Fremont Station 

• Folio Books – 24th St/Mission Station  

On the Rooftop is available at many additional local bookstores and on Bookshop.org (Purchases from Bookshop.org support independent bookstores). 

BART’s new book club is just one of our recent literary-themed rider engagement efforts. Last year, we hosted our first writing contest for riders, BART Lines, and shared the winning stories in our four Short Edition story dispensers. Late winter, we’ll be announcing the BART Lines: Youth Poetry Contest for local youth poets, ages 13 to 19.  

Discover more BARTable activities and contests by visiting bart.gov/bartable and signing up for the BARTable This Week newsletter. Thank you for riding – and reading – with BART.   

Read about the first One Book One BART book club, which we launched in Spring 2023 with Hua Hsu’s Stay True, at this link.    

The latest progress of the Measure RR rebuilding program is making a difference for riders by enhancing the reliability of the system and reducing service delays. The number of trains delayed due to outdated rail fell by more than 400 instances thanks to work that in some cases replaced track that had been in place since the start of BART service in 1972.
 
The reduction in service delays is among the findings in the latest Measure RR Annual Report published by the Bond Oversight Committee (BOC). The BOC’s independent oversight of the rebuilding program emphasizes cost-effectiveness, quality, and timeliness of work completion. The new annual report will be presented to the BART Board of Directors at its meeting on Thursday, July 11.

“Measure RR is a crucial part of our ongoing efforts to ensure BART is truly the safest way to get around the Bay,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “This Measure RR Annual Report highlights how the rebuilding program is boosting safety, making our core infrastructure more resilient, and improving our on-time performance for our riders.”

Through March 2024, $1.81 billion of Measure RR funds have been invested in rebuilding projects. There are now 157 projects in planning, design, construction, or have been completed. A total of 61 projects are complete, including 13 projects that have been completed since the BOC issued its last annual report in 2023. Measure RR money spent, and work completed to this point, have exceeded initial expectations.
 
Much of this progress for riders has been accomplished during weekend track shutdowns, when crews temporarily close a portion of the trackway to expedite track work that’s too large to accomplish during the few overnight hours when BART is not running trains. An example of this work is the ongoing effort to rebuild the core of the system in Oakland. You can learn more about the project and upcoming work dates here.
 
Measure RR is a $3.5 billion bond measure to replace BART’s aging infrastructure. It was approved by voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties in 2016.

BOC members review projects and data presented by BART staff in quarterly briefings. Members of the committee can request additional documents, information, and presentations on an ad hoc basis. The BOC is comprised of volunteers who represent a diversity of expertise. The organizations represented on the committee include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management, the Project Management Institute, and the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area. You can learn more about the committee at bart.gov/bondoversight.