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Who’da thunk that BART would Splunk?

Government agencies are typically associated with byzantine bureaucracy more than with agility and innovation. But BART’s Computer Systems Engineering (CSE) group is turning that on its head. They’re getting into Big Data in a big way. 

CSE staff produce tools to improve safety and reliability, using many data sources including the Integrated Control System (ICS) that runs trains from a NASA-like Operation Control Center.

BART also has an open-data policy under which as much data as possible is shared, allowing third-party developers to create apps to meet customer needs (see www.bart.gov/developers for that info).

CSE engineers run on tight schedules, write code, use Agile development methods and meet in stand-up scrums. (Splunk, by the way, is a San Francisco company that works to make machine-readable data more accessible and usable, and BART is using its technology). All the projects the team undertakes are aimed at improving the rider experience, in one way or another – such as spotting patterns to identify issues and fix them before they cause a problem.

Take a look at the graphic above for some of the impressive numbers from the CSE group. If you’re interested in joining our team, check out the listings for computer science engineers currently posted at www.bart.gov/jobs

Giovanna Lomanto pictured at 12th Street/Oakland Station. 

Do you have a favorite BART memory or story to share? Email a short summary to BART Storyteller Michelle Robertson at [email protected], and she may follow up to schedule an interview. 

When Giovanna Lomanto was young, her family moved from Daly City to Sacramento. After the move, she always looked forward to her family’s trips back to the Bay.  

From Sacramento, Lomanto and her sister would drive with their grandparents to Pittsburg/Bay Point Station, where they’d catch a BART train to 12th Street/Oakland Station. Their destination was Oakland Chinatown, where Lomanto’s grandma and grandpa would visit their old church friends and the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners they'd been seeing for years. They’d take BART because it was fun – a remnant of a previous life – but mostly because parking was a hassle in Chinatown and free at the BART station on weekends.  

“BART kept us connected to the Bay Area,” Lomanto said. “Especially the free weekend parking. That’s rare here!” 

Lomanto has distinct memories of riding BART with her grandparents way back when. Often, they’d give her and her sister coloring materials or tote along their My Little Pony whiteboard. The young girls would draw their fellow passengers and sometimes scribble secret messages to each other about them -- “That person has cool shoes,” or “They’re talking really loud.” Lomanto admitted her grandparents sometimes did the same by speaking to each other in Indonesian.  

Lomanto’s grandfather was a big BART fan. He’d memorized most of the fare chart by heart as well as the lines and where they went. He collected paper BART maps, too.  

“Now, every time I visit my grandma, she finds these maps and gives them to me, alerting me when the schedule has changed,” Lomanto said. “She wants to make sure I know where I’m going.”  

Lomanto’s grandmother turned 93 on Halloween of this year. Her grandfather passed away a few years ago.  

In 2017, Lomanto moved back to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley. She remembers the leader of her campus orientation tour guide taking her group to BART and teach them how to buy a Clipper card and read the maps. The first BART ride she took after moving to Berkeley was with her grandparents. They rode to Powell Street Station to visit SFMOMA, and one of the exhibits that left a lasting impression on them was Ragnar Kjartonsson’s “The Visitors.” Lomanto pointed out the piece recently returned to the museum. 

Lomanto, a poet and freelance writer, now lives within walking distance of 19th Street/Oakland Station with her partner, who relies on BART to get to work in Downtown San Francisco. Without BART, she noted, “He wouldn’t be able to get to work, and we wouldn’t be able to pay the bills.” They chose their apartment because of its proximity to a station.  

“BART matters to me because it gives me agency and decision-making power, while reminding me that I'm part of a larger system,” she said. “Sometimes, you get to a station and the train has just departed, and it reminds you that you’re one cog in a way bigger wheel.” Lomanto finds comfort in that. 

About the BART Connects Storytelling Series

The BART Connects storytelling series was launched in 2023 to showcase the real people who ride and rely on BART and illustrate the manifold ways the system affects their lives. You can follow the ongoing series at bart.gov/news. 

The series grew out of BART's Role in the Region Study, which demonstrates BART’s importance to the Bay Area’s mobility, cultural diversity, environmental and economic sustainability. We conducted a call for stories to hear from our riders and understand what BART means to them. The call was publicized on our website, social media, email blasts, and flyering at stations. More than 300 riders responded, and a selection of respondents who opted-in were interviewed for the BART Connects series.