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The BART Board of Directors has named Inez Gonzalez as the new BART Independent Police Auditor. The Office of the Independent Police Auditor (OIPA) is an essential part of the BART Civilian Oversight Model, which is among the most robust police oversight models in the country. The Board of Directors established both the OIPA and the BART Police Citizen Review Board in 2010.  Gonzalez succeeds Russell Bloom who was appointed Independent Police Auditor in 2016 and retired from BART earlier this year. Her first day on the job will be September 2, 2025.

“Inez Gonzalez has a wealth of experience that includes not only work in police oversight but also as a member of law enforcement,” said BART Board President Mark Foley. “BART has one of the most robust police oversight models in the country and it will be made even stronger thanks to the passion for equitable policing that Inez Gonzalez will bring to the Office of the Independent Police Auditor.”

Gonzalez brings more than 25 years of progressive experience in police oversight, law enforcement, and investigations to her new role as BART Independent Police Auditor. Gonalez most recently served as the Executive Director of the Police Civilian Oversight Board in Charlottesville, Virginia. While there she implemented a comprehensive civilian investigation program to promote integrity and systemic improvement in police services. Before that, Gonzalez rose to the rank of Captain in the Newark, New Jersey Police Department. Among her roles in Newark was serving as Commander of Internal Affairs where she directed complex investigative operations while ensuring compliance with department policies, attorney general guidelines, and state law.

“I am profoundly honored by the trust the BART Board of Directors has placed in me in appointing me as the Independent Police Auditor,” said Inez Gonzalez. “The Office of the Independent Police Auditor serves as a cornerstone of accountability, transparency, and fairness in policing. With integrity, impartiality, and purpose, I am committed to building upon the strong legacy established by my predecessors. I look forward to fostering collaborative relationships with the BART Police Citizen Review Board, BART leadership, and most importantly, the communities we serve.” 

The mission of the OIPA is to provide effective and independent oversight of the BART Police Department by conducting unbiased and thorough investigations, monitoring internal affairs investigations, and making policy recommendations to improve the performance of the police department.  OIPA also reports to the public and maintains communication with communities served by BART. The OIPA has unfettered access to police records, data, reports, and videos to perform their investigative and monitoring work. OIPA accepts complaints, including anonymously, and can investigate complaints from community members whether or not they were the victim of alleged police misconduct.

Learn more about BART’s Independent Police Auditor.

BART today started running longer trains on most of its lines in response to a recent surge in ridership. All trains on the Yellow Line, which extends from Antioch to SFO, will be extended from eight cars to nine. The Yellow Line is BART’s busiest. 

BART is also extending some trains on the Red, Blue, and Green lines. Each line will now feature four eight-car trains in the AM and PM peak. The longer trains will expand capacity as more riders take BART. BART’s ridership in August increased by 10% compared with a year ago. BART’s strongest ridership days of 2025 have come this month including the highest daily total of the year when 219,918 riders took BART on September 10. 

Ridership numbers are increasing as BART has delivered on a series of changes to improve safety, cleanliness, and the overall rider experience. Big wins for riders in 2025 include the earlier than promised installation of Next Generation Fare Gates at all 50 stations, a drop in BART’s overall crime rate, an increased visible safety presence, a boost in cleaning for trains and stations, customer on-time performance increasing to 94% for the latest quarter, and BART becoming the first transit system in the Bay Area to offer riders the convenience of Tap and Ride. 

The 55th annual San Francisco Pride Celebration Parade will be held on Sunday, June 29th and BART will increase service to carry participants to and from the festivities.

We encourage you to take BART and “ride with Pride” to get to and from the parade safely and expediently. Embarcadero, Montgomery St, Powell St, and Civic Center stations are all along the parade route (see rider guide). 

BART will open at 8am and run 5-line service with trains roughly every 5 minutes through Downtown San Francisco. Additional event trains will be dispatched as ridership warrants. After 9pm, BART will run 3-line service.  

In the morning, event trains will bolster our service between Millbrae and Downtown San Francisco as well as between Pleasant Hill and Downtown San Francisco from 9:30 to 11am. Later in the day, event trains will start at 2pm and continue into the evening, supplementing scheduled service. 

The parade begins at 10am at Market and Beale streets, closest to Embarcadero Station. It will end at Market and 8th streets, closest to Civic Center Station.  

Riders should expect large crowds at Embarcadero Station before 10am and large crowds all day at Civic Center Station, as well as heavy ridership to and from all Downtown San Francisco stations and 16th St Mission Station. Riders are encouraged to use Montgomery St and Powell St instead of Civic Center or Embarcadero stations.  

Tips for taking BART to the SF Pride Parade and Celebration 

• Before you leave home put a Clipper card on your cellphone through either Apple Pay or Google Pay. There is no $3 new-card fee for riders who add either of the mobile options. Please ensure you have sufficient funds for a round trip. 
• Embarcadero, Montgomery Street, Powell Street and Civic Center stations can all be used to get to the parade route.
• Download the official BART app to plan your trip, get real-time departures, and pay for parking.
• Be patient. It could get crowded on trains and in our stations. BART’s busiest hours are expected to be from the parade start until 2pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm leaving the parade and celebration.
• When boarding trains, move to the center of the car so more people can fit and remove backpacks.
• Don’t jam a train door, which can take the whole train out of service. 

Getting to BART/Parking 

Consider taking a bus, getting dropped off, riding your bicycle, or walking to your station. 

BART offers free parking on weekends, except at Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose stations, which are owned by VTA and VTA's parking rates still apply. More info on parking at BART: bart.gov/parking.  

BART in the parade 

BART staff, their families, and friends will march in the San Francisco Pride Parade with the BARTmobile. 

New Pride stickers and Pride shirts are available on Railgoods. 

BART wishes everyone attending a safe and happy celebration! 

BART fares will increase January 1, 2025, to keep pace with inflation so that the agency is able to pay for continued operations and to work toward restoring financial stability. BART's current funding model relies on passenger fares to pay for operations. 

Fares will increase 5.5 percent on New Year’s Day. The increase is tied to the rate of inflation minus a half-percentage point. It’s the second such increase – the first took effect January 1, 2024.

The average fare will increase 25 cents, from $4.47 to $4.72. BART's fare calculator and Trip Planner have been updated with the new fares for trips with the date 1/1/25 and beyond. Riders can learn how the increase will affect their travels by entering a 2025 date for their trip.

“We understand that price increases are never welcome, but BART fares remain a vital source of funds even with ridership lower than they were before the pandemic,” said BART Board Vice President Mark Foley. “My Board colleagues and I voted in June 2023 to spread necessary fare increases over two years rather than catching up all at once. At the same time, we voted to increase the Clipper START means-based discount from 20 percent to 50 percent to help those most in need.”

The fare increase is expected to raise about $14 million per year for operations. Combined with the previous year’s fare adjustment, BART will use this $30 million per year to fund train service, enhanced cleaning, additional police and unarmed safety staff presence, and capital projects such as the Next Generation Fare Gates project. 

Discounts available for those who are eligible

The regional Clipper START program is an important resource for low-income riders of BART and other Bay Area transit systems. The program is for adult riders with a household income of 200% of the federal poverty level or less. Administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, program participants receive a personalized Clipper card that cuts half the cost of fares on more than 20 transit systems.

• Limited income riders get 50% off with Clipper START.
• Youth 5-18 years old get 50% off with a Youth Clipper card. 
• Seniors 65 and over get 62.5% off with a Senior Clipper card. 
• The RTC Clipper card is a version of Clipper created for passengers under 65 with qualifying disabilities to provide 62.5% off.  

Regular, predictable increases a long-term strategy 

January’s fare increase is the latest adjustment in a strategy to provide BART funding while providing riders predictable, scaled changes to the costs of riding. In 2004, BART first implemented this inflation-based fare increase program that calls for small, regular, less-than-inflation increases every two years, allowing fares to keep up with the cost of providing reliable and safe service. 

BART is also much less expensive than driving on a cost per mile basis. The Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rate for driver is 67 cents per mile; BART riders pay an average of 27 cents per mile, 60% less than the cost of driving.

Outdated funding model

BART's current funding model relies on passenger fares to pay for operations. Even with the fare increase, BART is facing a $35 million operating deficit in FY26 and $385 million in FY27. Since BART’s outdated model of relying on passenger fares to pay most operating costs is no longer feasible because of remote work, the agency must modernize its funding sources to better match other transit systems throughout the country that receive larger amounts of public funding. BART needs a more reliable long-term source of operating funding and continues to advocate at the federal, state, and regional levels for the permanent funding needed to sustainably provide the quality transit service the Bay Area needs.  

Addressing BART’s ongoing financial crisis will take a variety of solutions including securing new revenue and continuing to find internal cost savings. BART costs have grown at a rate lower than inflation, showing we have held the line on spending. We have implemented a service schedule that better matches ridership and we are running shorter trains, reducing traction power consumption and maintenance costs.

This article was first posted on November 26, 2024.

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.