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This September, the BART Anime Project invites the public to Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival – a novel community gathering that celebrates anime, art, music, and transit.  

On Saturday, September 6, join BART anime mascots Baylee, Nimbus, Jasmine, Mira, and BARTy for this unique event that will bring artists, live DJs, dance lessons, boba, and more to Warm Springs/South Fremont Station.  

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What: Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival 

When: Saturday, Sept. 6, 4:30pm to 8pm 

Where: Warm Springs/South Fremont Station plaza 

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BART's anime mascots are inspiring youth to ride public transit by making it exciting and accessible. Nearly half of Gen Z in the U.S. – a growing and reliable ridership demographic – watches anime, and BART’s mascots help us meet young people where they’re at, building connections and relationships through their own interests.  

Let us know you're coming to this free event (RSVPing is not required to attend): bartletsglow.eventbrite.com/ 

Giveaway! The first 50 people who arrive by BART will get a free Let’s Glow \ light stick /. Find BART anime mascot Mira by the Station Agent booth to get your light stick before they’re all gone. Show them off at the festival as @sanflare teaches the crowd a choreographed wotagei dance. We’ll also sell a limited number of Let’s Glow light sticks at the event. 

What to expect at Let’s Glow: 

• An artist alley featuring art inspired by transit, anime, games, and more!
• Fan club & community tables. Find your crowd like a club fair in college.
• Food & boba stands, with exclusive themed drinks based on the BART Anime Mascots! 

• Live DJs from AniClover! 

• Free dance & wotagei lessons with SanFlare 

• Shortly after sunset, we will all dance together. Be sure to bring your light sticks if you have them.  

• Itasha arranged by Dreamscape: bold, anime-inspired cars and scooters
• Railgoods Popup Shop, featuring original BART merch 

• VTubers! Meet & greet your favorite virtual creators at the OffKai Expo table. VTuber Research Club will also bring their roaming robots. 

• An exclusive eki stamp~ 

• Art boards! 

• Lantern decoration! 

Learn more about BART’s anime mascots and their real-life inspirations, download coloring sheets and cosplay guides, and stay up to date with the project at bart.gov/anime. Purchase BART anime merch on Railgoods.com. 

If you’re interested in hosting a fan club or community table at the festival, a limited number of spaces are available. Apply at https://bart-anime.notion.site/240b53326cb2813d8c91d563abce18ef?pvs=105 

December ridership rose 13.5% year over year, capping a year of steady growth for BART. 

The ridership gains reflect the continued impact of the New BART experience, a systemwide focus on customer experience improvements. Recent investments in safety, cleanliness, and innovative offerings, such as Next Generation Clipper and a new BART App integration with Uber, are helping strengthen rider confidence and bring people back to the system.  

Even with these gains, ridership growth alone won’t solve BART’s budget shortfalls. While most riders have returned to BART, they are riding less frequently, resulting in fewer trips. The Bay Area has the highest work-from-home rates in the nation, and BART ridership closely mirrors office occupancy. 

Each 5% increase in ridership translates to about $13 million a year in new revenue, and to close BART's ongoing structural financial deficit of $350-$400 million with just fare revenue, ridership would need to more than double.  

Highlights from the December Ridership Snapshot: 

• Weekend ridership showed a steady increase this December, in keeping with 2025 trends. Saturday ridership in December rose 23% year over year, while Sunday ridership increased nearly 13%, underscoring the system’s expanding role in leisure, airport, and non-work travel. 
• 13% of all BART trips were taken using Tap and Ride, which allows riders to pay by tapping a contactless credit or debit card at the fare gates. Usage climbed toward the end of the month as travelers and casual riders hopped onboard around the holidays. Ridership at SFO Station alone increased 14% compared with December 2024. 
• On December 10, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission began the rollout of Next Generation Clipper, a fare payment system upgrade that expanded Tap and Ride to all Clipper agencies and introduced additional improvements, including free or discounted transfers between operators and enhanced online account management at clippercard.com. 20% of all free or discounted transfers in the Bay Area included a leg on BART in December, and two-thirds of all Tap and Ride trips were on BART, reinforcing BART’s role as the backbone of the regional transit network. 
• BART trips using Clipper BayPass increased 157% year over year as more employers, schools, and housing providers adopted the all-in-one transit pass for employees, students, and residents. Nineteen organizations are enrolled in Clipper BayPass, as of January 2026. 
• Clipper START usage grew by nearly 40% in December compared to a year ago. Clipper Senior trips increased by more than 10%. 

Additional ridership data is published monthly at bart.gov/about/reports/ridership. 

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Each summer, a cohort of young people land at BART to learn about the organization and get a glimpse inside the working life that awaits them in their future careers.  

Run by BART’s Workforce Development Division, the BART Internship Program pairs young adults on the cusp of entering the workforce – from high schoolers to collegiates – with BART mentors who show their mentees the ropes and guide them through hands-on projects that have real-world impacts. The interns work across departments, from Engineering and External Affairs to Human Resources and the District Secretary’s Office.  

“We’re looking for energy and excitement about BART,” said Kimberly Davis, Sr. Workforce Development Analyst, who runs the BART Internship Program. “Are you willing to explore? Are you flexible? Are you going to be a positive influence in the workplace? These are some of the things I’m watching for during the interview process.”  

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BART interns have opportunities to attend career development and readiness workshops, networking events, career panels, and special behind-the-scenes tours of the innerworkings of the agency. Every intern is paid, whether through BART or a community partner, such as local city offices, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions.  

At the end of the internship, participants showcase their final projects in a formal presentation to executives, mentors, staff, peers, and community sponsors. When they say farewell to BART, they leave with a refreshed resume, a letter of recommendation, and some hard-earned insight into life post-graduation – wherever it may take them.  

That’s enough from us – let’s hear from the BART interns themselves!  

Responses have been edited for space and clarity. 

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Q: Why did you want to intern at BART?  

Ruben: I’ve commuted for the past few years on BART, and I wanted to know what was going on behind-the-scenes and see how it works.  

Michai: I wanted the work experience and to learn more about work.  

Brian: I wanted to intern at BART because I want to expand my knowledge of construction management because I’m interested in working for PG&E.  

Elizabeth: I wanted to intern at BART because it’s public sector, and I have always wanted to learn more about transportation.  

Question: What projects are you involved in?  

Isabella: I’ve been working on a digital record management system. I’ve been entering Board resolutions into the computer so they’re easier to find.  

Austin: I’ve been going to every single station and counting their inventory. I’m helping BART save money! 

Katy: I am making a mock-up of the new faregates out of PVC and cardboard to help people figure out how to move the gates into labs and through tight corners and doorways. I’ve learned that a lot of the fun things are also the challenges. I have to be methodical about the project and not forget anything. 

Nahom: I’ve done a lot of different tasks during my internship. Looking at new technology in the field is cool.  

Matthew: I’m involved in two projects related to automated software that allow you to automate your workflow. I obviously cannot finish it in six weeks, but my goal is to finish the outline and create the program. Every day is fun.  

Q: What have you learned during the internship and how might you apply it in the future? 

Isabella: I learned how to organize, adjust, and adapt things to the future to make things easier for people.  

Matthew: I’ve learned a lot, especially about the importance of gaining experience, networking, and professionalism.  

Katy: I’ve learned a lot about the reality of working. I don’t want to work in an office, but the experience has been great. 

Q: What have you learned from your mentor? How have they helped you throughout the internship?  

Elizabeth: My mentor Ally has been very supportive of me and very patient. Even if I don’t know what to do, she loves answering questions. It was good leaning on her for things I needed help with.  

Brian: When I got to this department, I was really confused as to what was going on. But since being here, I’ve learned a lot, including about the differences between being in the field and being in the office.  

Q: Do you think you’d like to work at BART in the future? 

Ruben: If the opportunity comes, then yes, I would like to.  

Isabella: I think I would if the opportunity is presented. I would like to work in a field where you talk to people, so the communications department.  

Matthew: It depends. I don’t like working for but working with. I like the environment here.  

Students interested in internships at BART can email the Workforce Development team at [email protected]. General internships are sponsored through partnerships with various community-based organizations in the BART service area. 

Find BART’s earthquake safety tips here. 

When a big earthquake strikes the Bay Area, BART is ready with a series of stringent protocols and a specially trained team that's prepared to dispatch the moment after a quake hits to assess the system and ensure it’s safe to run. 

BART is an industry leader when it comes to preparing and mitigating the impacts of major earthquakes. BART was an early adopter of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System that gives us an alert before ground shaking happens. Read more about the system here.  

BART also recently completed its Earthquake Safety Program (ESP). The ESP was instigated in the early 2000s and included a major retrofit of the Transbay Tube, which some engineers consider one of the safest places to be during a big earthquake.  

Though the project is complete, BART engineers never let their guards down when it comes to earthquakes, and the recent Great ShakeOut earthquake drill is an example of the lengths BART takes to be prepared. BART knows its importance in the wake of major earthquakes. After the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, when the Bay Bridge collapsed and BART was up and running within hours, the region witnessed how BART is as a transportation lifeline for the SF Bay Area during major disasters. 

“Re-establishing train services quickly after a major earthquake is essential for regional emergency response and economic recovery. One key element of making this happen is prompt assessment and reporting of structure conditions throughout the system,” said Phoebe Cheng, Engineering Group Manager. 

BART Principal Structural Engineer Alvin Tsui leads the Earthquake Response Team (ERT) with support from Engineer Recy Calma. Their goal is to train employees and continuously improve BART’s post-earthquake inspection procedures.  

The ERT consists of around sixty engineers and thirty maintenance employees that fan out across the system in the advent of a major earthquake, defined as an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater with an epicenter within 50 miles of the BART system. Since its inception, the ERT has never been activated for a real event, but they train throughout the year to prepare for the real possibility of a massive earthquake rattling the Bay Area.  

The Great ShakeOut is the ERT’s big show. Once the international earthquake drill commences at 10:16am, BART staff hit the ground running. The first step is triggering the ShakeAlert early warning earthquake system, which signals trains to automatically slow to 27mph before briefly stopping. During the drill, BART also tests its internal communications systems while the Operations Control Center ensures the train control systems are working properly.  

Meanwhile, ERT members travel to all 50 stations to conduct structural assessments, simulating damage inspections that would occur during a real earthquake. They inspect walkways, support structures, elevators, escalators – anything that could sustain damage in a powerful earthquake.  

The Great ShakeOut simulation is designed to exercise “muscle memory” for BART’s earthquake response as well as identifying areas for improvement.  

Safety is BART’s mission above all, and the practiced ERT is crucial for getting service up and running quickly. 

The team focuses their observations on stations and aerial structures. They’re looking for physical damage – cracks, leaning, displacement, unevenness, and foundation damage – as well as issues like station power outages, falling signage, and water intrusion.  

Members of the ERT can be activated at any time, and staff volunteer to join the team. Every ERT member is issued two big backpacks full of supplies they might need, from batteries and measuring tools to safety vests and protein bars. One backpack stays at their house: the other in their office. See what’s in their bags in the video.  

It’s honorable to be a member of the ERT, who have signed themselves up to prioritize the safety of their community during a major disaster. Calma wanted to be a part of the ERT after witnessing big earthquakes while living in the Philippines.  

“I was hesitant to join at first – it's a lot of responsibility,” she said. “But as an engineer, your goal is to serve the public.” 

Added Tsui: “As an employee at a public agency, we are the heart of regional emergency response. As members of the ERT, we want to serve the community and help keep them safe during emergencies.”