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New data shows big improvements for BART riders
Several key indicators BART uses to measure success are showing significant progress in efforts to showcase a new and improved BART experience. New data shows ridership growth and improvements to safety, cleanliness, satisfaction, and reducing fare evasion.
Strong Saturday ridership
Total ridership grew 6.4% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 over the same quarter last year. Weekday ridership increased nearly 7% over the same quarter last year, while weekends had even bigger gains as more families are taking BART to events. The average Saturday had a 14% ridership increase and the average Sunday ridership grew by more than 8% compared to the same quarter last year. The Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) also showed customer satisfaction is at 84%, train cleanliness improved by 58% year over year, and station cleanliness improved 52% year over year.
These gains come as BART has focused all available resources on implementing its Safe and Clean Plan. The comprehensive approach to transforming the rider experience includes a surge in BART PD’s visible safety presence on trains and in stations as well as doubling the rate of deep cleanings for trains. Another huge improvement for the rider experience is running only new Fleet of the Future trains.
Safety staff presence brings order in the system
In the latest QPR, overall robberies decreased from 42 in the previous quarter to 21 while electronic theft decreased from 43 in the previous quarter to 21. Crimes against persons decreased from 9.56 last quarter to 6.22 crimes per one million trips in the third quarter of this year. These gains come as police-related customer service complaints dropped by 63% year over year, showing an improved perception of safety from riders.
“The BART Police Department is seeing firsthand the transformation that is taking place at BART thanks to the dedication of our sworn officers, ambassadors, fare inspectors, crisis intervention specialists, and community service officers,” said Kevin Franklin, BART’s Chief of Police. “Riding BART today is nothing like what it was during the pandemic. Our new deployment strategies and proactive enforcement is providing a more welcoming experience for families in our stations and trains.”
BART's efforts to harden the system, led by the installation of its Next Generation Fare Gates, are being recognized as the number of riders who say they’ve witnessed fare evasion has reached a new low for the past five quarters, going from 24% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 to 15% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2025. The stronger gates feature a state-of-the-art locking mechanism as well as sensors that improve access for riders in wheelchairs as well as those using strollers or carrying luggage. The new gates have been installed in 40 stations so far and will be in place in all 50 BART stations by the end of this year.
Key rider safety reports via the BART Watch app are also declining
Riders are reporting fewer safety concerns and issues related to Code of Conduct violations and people needing welfare checks through the BART Watch App.
The number of Code of Conduct related reports sent by riders decreased this latest quarter to 2,398 reports, compared to 3166 during the same quarter last year. Requests for welfare checks also decreased to 680 requests, compared to 763 for the same quarter last year- meaning there are fewer people who look like they can't care for themselves. BART recently placed 400 posters in its train cars targeting unwanted activities such as smoking, harassment, and unruly behavior. These posters reinforce BART PD’s commitment to enforcing the Code of Conduct and providing a welcoming environment for all riders.
Safe Trips to BART: An Action Plan for Safer Roadways
Take BART + Muni to Outside Lands Music Festival
Outside Lands, the Bay Area’s biggest music festival, is this Friday, Aug. 8, through Sunday, Aug. 10. The annual festival draws thousands of people to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and parking is a nightmare with no on-site festival parking and very limited street parking.
Don't circle the neighborhood for an hour. Take public transportation!
Use BART's Trip Planner for detailed routes and transit options.
Getting there
BART does not offer direct service to Golden Gate Park, but you can easily take BART into Downtown San Francisco and transfer to SF Muni or the festival's pre-paid roundtrip local shuttles.
BART will run a regular schedule, with trains running until around midnight each night of the festival.
Muni transfer: Exit at Montgomery St Station and take the 5R Fulton Rapid, 5 Fulton, 38R Geary Rapid or 38 Geary Bus to the Main Gate. Muni will provide extra service on the N Judah and 5R Fulton Rapid. Each night of the festival, Muni will provide 5X Fulton Express service from Golden Gate Park to Civic Center BART Station.
Outside Lands prepaid shuttles: Take BART to Civic Center Station and walk down Grove St. to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
Parking at BART is free on weekends
BART Parking is free after 3pm on Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday, except for the Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose stations, which are operated by VTA. Visit bart.gov/parking for more info.
BART Police conduct training at Millbrae Station Sunday, 8/14
From 8:00am to 2:30pm on Sunday, August 14, 2016, BART Police will conduct security training exercises at Millbrae Station using the out-of-service train platform. The purpose of the training is to prepare for possible future emergencies. The training should not cause service delays of more than 3-5 minutes
Podcast: Moving oral histories of Tanforan at BART's San Bruno Station
BART can take you many places around the Bay. But in this case, it offers a trip back to the past….to one of our darkest chapters in American history. “We knew that some among them were potentially dangerous. Most were loyal, but no one knew what would happen among this concentrated population if Japanese
Read some of our favorite BART love stories
Photo courtesy of Anya McInroy Photography.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner (and so is our Valentraine speed dating event ) and, well, there is just something romantic about trains!
So many people have found love on BART.
Read some of our past BART meet cute stories:
Former BART attorney met the love of her life on San Francisco-bound train
Meet Crystal and George, who met each other on the Lake Merritt Station platform.
On her daily trips to Embarcadero Station, Crystal began noticing a man on the Lake Merritt platform. The two often rode on the same train car, through the Transbay Tube and into the city.
“I probably saw him for a month, every day, waiting on the same platform,” said Crystal.
With only a few months in the Bay under her belt, Crystal was on the hunt for friends and community – “Definitely not a boyfriend,” she said. In fact, Crystal already had a significant other.
So, one day, Crystal decided to gather her courage and introduce herself to the mysterious, well-dressed man on the train.
“BART Guy” and “BART Girl” find love on an empty Embarcadero platform
Thanksgiving Day morning, 2001. Embarcadero Station platform. Gene and Stefani are the only two people waiting for a train. Both are heading to see their families. They make small talk. Gene's train pulls up, and he boards the train. Before the doors close, Gene stepped off.
“It was a split-second decision,” said Gene. “I never thought, ‘oh, that’s my future wife’. It was more a thought of ‘I’ll never see her again, what a shame’. That compelled me to step off the train...I was so embarrassed, and I was asking myself ‘what have I done?’.”
BART Connects: A transit wedding happened naturally for these newlyweds
Photo courtesy of Anya McInroy Photography.
Mahalia LeClerc and Benjamin Frisbey never set out to have a transit wedding. It just kind of happened that way...
“We were never like, let’s make sure we include BART in the wedding,” the bride said.
"[But] we value public transit. And though we didn’t plan it that way, our experiences using it naturally led us to having a transit wedding.”
Read the story here.
Couple who met on BART tie the knot with whimsical BART-themed wedding at Fairyland
Photo courtesy of Katie Weinholt Photography.
Seven years ago, Marylee and Armin met on a BART train. In May at Oakland's Fairyland, they tied the knot with a BART-themed wedding.
"I don’t believe in soulmates, but I do believe in the right people at the right time...You were exactly the right person at BART to talk to."
They chatted in the Transbay Tube in 1983. This fall, they celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary
It was 1983. BART was pretty new to the Bay Area and so was 23-year-old Cindy when she stepped onto a BART train that would change her life.
The train was packed that evening, and Cindy – her feet aching from too many hours squished into heels – couldn't find a seat.
“Why didn’t I bring flat shoes today?” she said aloud, speaking more to the universe than any person in particular.
But then a human voice responded. It belonged to a young man hanging onto the strap beside Cindy.
The two struck up a casual conversation as the train began its underwater journey through the Transbay Tube.
Read the story here.
Crime on BART drops 17% compared with last year
The BART Police Department’s continued focus on boosting its visible presence in the system appears to be having an impact for both rider and front-line safety. The end-of-the-year Chief’s Report shows overall crime on BART in 2024 was down 17% from the previous year and violent crime was down 11% over that same period. The substantial drop in crime happened even as BART served 2.6 million more trips than it carried in 2023.
Additional highlights from the latest Chief’s Report include:
*The total number of property crimes on BART fell by 536 incidents compared with 2023.
*There were 229 fewer auto thefts, a 34% drop.
*BART PD’s response time to Tier 1 emergencies in December was 3 minutes and 56 seconds, among the fastest for any law enforcement agency in the Bay Area.
BART PD is using both sworn officers as well as non-sworn, unarmed Crisis Intervention Specialists, Transit Ambassadors, Fare Inspectors, and Community Service Officers to maximize its visible presence in the system. Their efforts are being bolstered by the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates, which are already in place at 16 stations across the system. The taller and more resilient gates are improving the station environment and deterring fare evasion. BART plans to install new gates at all 50 of its stations by the end of this year.
Last year was also BART PD’s strongest recruitment year since the pandemic. The officer vacancy total has fallen to 16 and the department is continuing its aggressive recruitment campaign by highlighting its $15,000 hiring bonus for officers and dispatchers as well as the unique career opportunities only BART PD can offer.
Go behind the scenes with a crew installing new vinyl BART seats
By MELISSA JORDAN BART Senior Web Producer It takes muscle and dexterity to rip the old seats out of a BART train and install new ones. At the Richmond maintenance yard where most of BART’s new seats are being installed, there’s a steady hum of sounds as an installation crew sets to work. A forklift drops a
BART Police Department Review Committee meeting rescheduled to Feb. 18
DATE CHANGE - The meeting on Monday, February 8 has been rescheduled The BART Police Department Review Committee will meet on Thursday, February 18, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in the BART Board Room, which is located in the Kaiser Center 20th Street Mall, Third Floor, 344 20th St., Oakland, CA Download directions to
BART launches free Wi-Fi at five stations
BART riders can now access free Wi-Fi 6E at five heavily travelled stations, ensuring seamless connectivity for fans and residents ahead of Super Bowl LX-related events.
The first five stations — San Francisco International Airport, West Oakland, Embarcadero, Civic Center, and Powell Street — are now live, providing station visitors with critical connectivity, especially during one of the busiest ridership weeks of the year.
This launch marks the first milestone in a comprehensive digital transformation project that will bring state-of-the-art Wi-Fi connectivity to all BART stations over the next couple of years, followed by onboard connectivity on all BART trains.
The Wi-Fi is powered by Boldyn Networks, a leading neutral host provider. BART riders will access the SSID network named “BART Wi-Fi," and no password or email is required. Sessions on the network will last 20 minutes, and users will be required to confirm they are still actively using the network beyond 20 minutes.
Once users select to join the BART Wi-Fi network, their device will present an option to connect automatically. If that option is selected, their device will remember the SSID. When within the coverage area of the network, their device will automatically join the SSID, and a captive portal page will be presented to ensure they are still active on the network.
“Offering high-quality Wi-Fi is being responsive to the needs of our riders and will enhance the customer experience by providing connectivity,” said Ravi Misra, Assistant General Manager of Technology at BART. “Boldyn worked with us to deliver this initial phase as the Bay Area takes to the world stage for the Big Game, and more upgrades are slated in the months and years to come.”
SFO and Powell Street stations were prioritized as Super Bowl fans will be flying into San Francisco for the festivities, and families will be using Powell Street Station to access the official Super Bowl Experience and San Francisco Fan Zone by the station.
Travelers moving through these hubs can now access Wi-Fi 6E technology, which utilizes 6GHz spectrum to deliver reliable, blanket coverage of the stations.
Benefits of the new Wi-Fi service include:
- Eases strain on cell network during high-density events.
- Overall, phones perform better when connected to reliable Wi-Fi, especially in a congested area. It saves battery life too.
- Essential for international visitors to communicate without a U.S. roaming plan.
- Ensures uninterrupted connectivity for medical/health monitoring devices.
- Ensures riders can access digital fare payments and emergency communications.
After these initial five stations, BART plans to deploy Wi-Fi at 16th Street, 24th Street, Balboa Park, Glen Park, and Daly City stations by June. Remaining stations are expected to be completed by early 2028.
Free Wi-Fi comes at no cost to BART
Offering Wi-Fi to riders comes at no cost to BART because of our Licensing Agreement with Boldyn Networks (formerly Mobilitie LLC) that was entered into in 2020. The agreement allows Boldyn to use BART property to deploy cellular and fiber-optic infrastructure to enable:
- 5G cellular coverage in the SFMTA (Muni) underground
- New fiber-optic capacity through the Transbay Tube
- Multiple cellular installations around the Bay Area
This Agreement allows major service providers, like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Comcast, and many others, to deliver the connectivity people rely on. BART receives a share of telecom revenue generated on BART property—estimated at approximately $200 million over 20 years—along with ownership of several new assets. One of those assets is station Wi-Fi, which is provided to BART at no cost. Boldyn is responsible for the full cost of installing, operating, and maintaining the Wi-Fi system.