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In July, BART released the Role in the Region Report, a comprehensive study of BART's impact on the Bay Area illustrated by new analyses, data visualizations, and powerful personal narratives. Over the coming months, we'll be sharing some of the key insights from the report in a series of articles here on bart.gov. Click here to read the first story — on BART's role in reducing regional traffic — and the here for the second story, which explores BART's contributions to the economy.

We encourage you to read the full report - click here - and visit the project webpage at bart.gov/roleintheregion. 

Today's post looks at BART's impact on lowering the cost of living. See the full report for methodology.

BART helps riders save money

BART helps people get by in the Bay Area by connecting them to jobs and helping them save money on transportation costs.

BART trips are cheaper than driving, and people who live near BART stations typically have lower transportation costs than those in other parts of the region.

Figure 2.1 shows that the cost of taking BART is lower than driving for many common trip types. Households within a half-mile of a BART station have, on average, 30 percent fewer vehicles than households beyond a half-mile from a BART station. Annually, these households drive 16 percent fewer miles, which translates to lower transportation costs.

What BART Riders Say…

“I'd have much less money and a lot more stress due to needing a car to get around. I also would love San Francisco less if it didn't have BART. It's too important to the vitality of this city.

- Rider based in San Francisco 

BART connects workers to jobs

Within San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties, census tracts within a half-mile of a BART station have a 13 percent higher average job access score, which considers the number, overall mix, and types of jobs. People who live in census tracts within a half-mile of a BART station commute, on average, 16 percent fewer minutes than people who live further away.

BART Yellow and Orange lines serve a high proportion of people without a college degree. A clear example of the access and benefit that BART provides is seen in the cities of Antioch and Pittsburg, which are both lower-income and more diverse than the Bay Area as a whole. Residents of these cities can use BART to reach jobs in larger Bay Area cities like San Francisco and Oakland in an affordable and timely manner.

What BART Riders Say…

 

“I don’t think my family and I could remain in the Bay Area without BART.”

 

Peter Woods, Brentwood, CA

With some 794,000 jobs (21% of the region's total) within a 15-minute walk of a BART station, BART helps people access a large pool of economic opportunities across the Bay Area. By linking people to jobs, BART helps put money in people's pockets, which increases their ability to thrive in the expensive region.

Rider story: Kassandra

In August, Kassandra Santillan started her second year at San Francisco State University, her dream college where she studies microbiology, her dream major. If she couldn’t take BART to school, she wouldn’t be able to attend.

“BART made it happen for me,” she said. “I can’t afford to live near campus, so I’d probably be at a community college instead.”

Santillan is the first person in her immediate family to attend college. She’s always aspired to study at SFSU because that's where her aunt went, and her aunt was one of the only people she knew who graduated from college.  

Santillan lives in East Oakland, where she grew up. She doesn’t currently have access to a car, so she takes BART twice a day, five days a week to school. Before starting at SFSU, she’d never really used the system.

“We didn’t travel far away when I was young,” she said. “The only other time I’d use BART was for field trips to San Francisco." 

Read Kassandra's story.

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BART recently released the 2026-2035 Sustainability Action Plan (SAP), outlining how the agency will uphold its commitment to advancing regional sustainability in the Bay Area in the decade to come.  

Sustainability is both what BART does (providing access to clean and reliable transit) and how BART does it (reducing our environmental impacts while operating the system). The new SAP identifies initiatives that support regional climate resilience, public well-being, increased ridership, and responsible environmental practices. 

The 2026-2035 SAP was compiled using the lessons learned from the 2015-2025 SAP and extensive outreach to riders, BART employees, the BART Board, and community members. BART’s Sustainability Department conducted surveys, held community meetings, and established internal working groups to help calibrate priorities. The department also examined historical performance data and built models to forecast BART’s future resource use.  

The plan is organized into seven categories that reflect different aspects of BART’s Sustainability Program. Within each category, BART has identified a mission-oriented goal, performance metrics to be tracked relative to 2030 targets, and organization-wide actions that will enhance our sustainability best practices.  

Key priorities include: 

• Increasing BART’s share of greenhouse gas-free electricity to 100% (currently BART’s electricity is 86% GHG-free as of calendar year 2024) 
• Upgrading water fixtures to conserve water across BART facilities 
• Expanding recycling and composting efforts across BART facilities 
• Adopting a Green Procurement Policy to aid in selecting sustainable materials 
• Conducting a multi-hazard climate risk assessment  
• Building more Transit-Oriented Development at our stations 
• Improving rider satisfaction by focusing on station cleanliness and safety 

“BART has made significant progress in advancing sustainability over the past eight years, but there’s more work to do,” said Michael Cox, BART Manager of Sustainability Projects. “Our goal for the new action plan is to establish practices that will pay environmental and cost dividends even beyond 2035. Getting input from many stakeholders helped us ensure we are planning projects that prioritize riders and help our system run more efficiently.”  

BART will publish annual sustainability reports throughout the 2026-2035 SAP period to provide progress updates. The forthcoming Calendar Year 2025 Sustainability Report, which will be released later this year, will be the final report summarizing work related to the outgoing 2015-2025 SAP. 

Learn more about sustainability at BART at bart.gov/sustainability. 

On Sunday, Dec. 10, BART rang in the holiday season with our riders during our inaugural SweaterFest ‘23. More than a thousand of you showed up to Rockridge Station to celebrate with us – a reminder of just how much the Bay Area loves BART.  

We encouraged attendees to wear their BART holiday sweaters – from 2023, 2022, or 2021 (the first year we launched the sweaters) – and pose for a group photo on the steps to the station. You can view the photo and more snapshots from the joyous event in the above slideshow.  

Some BART fans showed up as early as 11am – three hours before the start of the event – to be the first in line to buy a 2023 holiday sweater. By 2pm, the line to purchase BART merch snaked around the Rockridge sign and the plaza. 

“I didn’t know BART had a fashion line,” said one rider passing through the station.  

In addition to selling tons of BART-themed gifts, including the last-remaining 2023 holiday sweaters and beanies, we also launched our BART Stamp Rally with official BART passports, and handed out lots of free BART merch, including number plates and the new BART train plushie.  

Thanks for coming out, Bay Area. Happy Holidays!  

This year, BART sold 3,500 holiday sweaters in total. To help meet the strong demand, we pre-sold 2,370 sweaters earlier in the year. We ordered more than 1,000 additional sweaters to sell during the holiday season and were thrilled when they sold out quickly.  

If you weren’t able to get a sweater before they sold out this year, we encourage you to stay up to date on all things BART by following us on social media (click the icons at the bottom of this page), signing up here for our BART News email subscription, and downloading the official BART app.  

Click here to sign up for the One Book One BART mailing list.

Just in time for National Reading Month, BART is thrilled to announce the One Book One BART Spring 2025 book club, this time with a natural history-themed group read and three events for nature lovers of all ages and interests (scroll down to “Events” for more info).  

BART's book club is novel strategy for rider and employee engagement that invites members of the public to read the same book at the same time and participate in themed events in BART trains and stations.  

As BART faces a significant financial crisis, we are experimenting with new and creative ways to engage community members and get people riding – and excited about – BART. One Book One BART encourages people to get on BART and experience the region’s abundance of transit-accessible adventures, all while celebrating the long tradition of reading books onboard. 

"The BART book club's natural history theme is an inspiration to get out and explore the remarkable place in which we live," said BART Board President Mark Foley. “BART can transport you to so many green spaces, from the urban wilds of Lake Merritt to the mudflats of Point Isabel, and it takes you there in earth-friendly style.” 

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This year’s official One Book One BART selection is Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide by local conservationist Jeff Miller, with illustrations by Oakland-based artist/author/conservationist Obi Kaufmann. Bay Area Wildlife, which is published by Berkeley-based nonprofit Heyday Books, takes an educational and highly entertaining approach to the region’s local fauna, “revealing why each of these creatures matters, as well as the threats that loom over our region’s incredible biodiversity.”

"How cool that Bay Area Wildlife is the selection for this year’s BART book club, connecting Bay Area residents with our open spaces and wildlife neighbors," said author Jeff Miller. "When you get outdoors to explore, definitely ditch the car and use public transit for your Bay Area wildlife expeditions. Our car-centric culture results in a disturbing toll of road-killed animals, fragmentation of wildlife habitat, and spewed emissions that are altering the climate to the point of impending species extinctions. How we move through the world also affects us and how we perceive our surroundings. Riding BART is a great way to do yourself and the planet a favor while connecting with our amazing bioregion."  

Added Gayle Wattawa, general manager and editorial director at Heyday Books: “Heyday is thrilled to partner with BART on this innovative book club. One of the many reasons we take BART is that we get to read on board! And we get to feel good about the environmental impact. So why not pick up this funny Bay Area nature guide published by a local nonprofit publisher at a BARTable independent bookstore (yay, you!), admire Obi Kaufmann's beautiful artwork, read it—and laugh out loud—onboard, and exit the station more deeply attuned to our beautiful natural setting? All the wins.”  

Bay Area Wildlife will serve as a jumping off point for a series of free outdoor excursions by BART stations and on trains – just pay your fare! The events are intended to encourage the public to take BART to explore and witness the Bay Area’s wealth of natural phenomena. Public transportation is one of the greenest ways to get around, and the many at-risk wildlife populations who call the Bay Area home are yet another reason to prioritize sustainability when you travel. Focusing on nature is also a key theme of Earth Week, which is celebrated globally during the week leading up to April 22. BART is committed to raising awareness about environmental issues and ways that BART riders can do their part to protect our planet.

“This year’s One Book One BART book club emphasizes that our transit network connects us to places and people, flora and fauna,” said BART Communications’ Michelle Robertson, Principal Marketing Rep., who created One Book One BART. “BART provides access to so much more than urban centers – did you know there are 900 parks located within a mile of our stations? It’s true! So pick up a copy of Bay Area Wildlife, hop onboard a train, and explore the majestic natural world that surrounds us – that includes gazing out of the big windows onboard our trains. You never know what natural wonders you’ll discover!” 

Bay Area Wildlife illustrator Obi Kaufmann also created three original paintings that feature wildlife found by BART. The works will soon be displayed in ad spaces across the BART system. 

Get going on your next outdoor adventure, by visiting bartable.bart.gov/outdoors to discover a wealth of hikes, bike rides, and outdoor itineraries by BART stations. And check out the many libraries accessible by BART.  

One Book One BART homepage: bart.gov/bookclub

Download the One Book One BART flyer to print and post here [pdf]

A photo from One Book One BART’s 2022 ”train read-in,” a book club on a moving, in-service train.

One Book One BART Events

All events are free to attend. Just pay your BART fare!

Guided Nature Walk with Author Jeff Miller and Pals 

When: Saturday, April 19 

• The first walk will leave the station at 9am. The walk from 19th to Lakeside Park will take approx. 45 - 60 minutes. RSVP for the first walk (9am) on Eventbrite here 

• The second walk will leave the station at 11am. The walk from 19th St. to Lakeside Park will take approx. 45 - 60 minutes. RSVP for the second walk (11am) on Eventbrite here  

Where: 19th St/Oakland Station to the Rotary Nature Center 

Itinerary subject to change. 

Meet Bay Area Wildlife author Jeff Miller as he and some conservationist colleagues and local naturalists take us on a ~1.4-mile guided nature walk of Lake Merritt that will begin at 19th St. Station in Downtown Oakland.  

Expect to see lots of water birds and an assortment of herons and egrets, maybe even some fish! The walk will end in the grassy area adjacent to the Rotary Nature Center on the lake, where participants will have the opportunity to rendezvous with and learn from local environmental organizations.

Wear comfy walking shoes, fill up your water bottle, and bring whatever else you may need for the walk. And don’t forget your copy of Bay Area Wildlife – Jeff will be signing books.  

Bike Ride and Birdwatching 

When: Saturday, April 26

• Early short ride - Departs North Berkeley Station at 7:45am. The ride is approx. 8 miles roundtrip and will end at North Berkeley Station at approx. 9:45am. RSVP for the 7:45am short ride on Eventbrite.
• Long late ride - Departs North Berkeley Station at 10am. The ride is approx. 15 miles roundtrip and will end back at North Berkeley at approx. 1pm. RSVP for the 10am long ride on Eventbrite

Where: North Berkeley Station 

Itinerary subject to change. 

Heath Maddox, BART Manager of Bicycle and Micromobility Access Programs, and local birdwatchers will host two bike rides -- a shorter one for early birds and a later one for those looking for a long ride -- with birdwatching stops along the way. The ride will start and end at North Berkeley Station.

In addition to the expertise of local birdwatchers, we’ll have a digital guide featuring info on birds we might spot on the ride. Find the short 7:45am route here and the long 10am route here.

Bring your bike, helmet, and binoculars – we’ll have extras on hand to lend. You should also bring anything you need to be self-sufficient and keep your bike rolling (spare tube, patch kit, pump, etc.). If you do not have a bike, you can rent one from the Bay Wheels hub at North Berkeley Station.

BART Train Expedition with Obi Kaufmann 

When: Saturday, May 3, noon to approx. 1pm 

Where: Pleasant Hill/City Centre Station to 12th St/Oakland Station 

RSVP on Eventbrite

"Bay Area Wildlife" illustrator and acclaimed poet-naturalist Obi Kaufmann takes the public on a first-of-its-kind BART Train Expedition! The free, family-friendly ride on an in-service passenger train will take us on a journey through the East Bay’s mosaicked, ecological landscape – all through the windows of a Yellow Line train. During the ride, Kaufmann will transport us through “deep time” as he tells stories about the area’s ecosystems, water, fire, infrastructure, volcanic history, trees, and more.  

At the end of the approx. 30-minute ride, we’ll disembark at 12th St./Oakland Station and walk with Obi to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where we’ll pay homage to the Town’s most famous oak tree.  

A photo from BART HQ Book Day 2023, a celebration of books and community held for employees at BART HQ.  

Where to find the book

Bay Area Wildlife is available for purchase at many local bookstores, including our One Book One BART independent bookstore partners, who are offering 20% off the title when customers show their Clipper cards. All of our partners are within a mile of a BART station: 

Banter Bookshop - Fremont Station  

Bird and Beckett – Glen Park Station 

Books on B - Hayward Station 

Mrs. Dalloway’s - Rockridge Station  

Orinda Books - Orinda Station  

Spectator Books - MacArthur Station  

Tally Ho! Books – MacArthur Station 

You can also check the title out from local libraries – find BARTable’s roundup of libraries accessible by BART here – and on the digital app Hoopla.    

Win a copy of Bay Area Wildlife + BART swag 

BARTable will be running a sweepstakes for free copies of "Bay Area Wildlife" and other One Book One BART prizes on the BARTable Contests and Deals page. The sweepstakes will run from March 24 to March 30.  

We'll also be running social media contests on BARTable’s Instagram.   

Keep up with One Book One BART contest announcements by signing up for the book club mailing list (see instructions at the top of this page) and the BARTable This Week newsletter. 

About Jeff Miller 

Jeff Miller is an amateur naturalist, professional conservationist, and passionate advocate for wildlife. Jeff is the founder of the nonprofit Alameda Creek Alliance and has served as its executive director since 1997, working to restore steelhead trout and salmon to Alameda Creek and protect the Bay Area’s largest local watershed. He’s a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, spearheading biodiversity protection campaigns throughout the Bay Area and California, preparing endangered species listing petitions, writing press releases, and doing public outreach and organizing around wildlife protection issues. Over the last quarter century, he has been involved in conservation efforts for dozens of the most iconic imperiled wildlife species in the Bay Area, the most recent being securing state protections for burrowing owls. Jeff says that loving nature is as important as fighting for it and grieving ecological destruction. People tend to care more about animals and places that they have a direct experience with, so he wrote Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide to try to connect readers with our regional fauna and inspire them to make a pilgrimage to witness the Bay Area’s spectacular natural phenomena. 

As we wrap up 2023, BART will be running Sunday service on Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, and 2024 New Year's Day, Monday, January 1.

BART service will be the following for the last week of 2023:

Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24: standard Sunday service (8am-midnight)

Christmas Day, Monday, December 25: Sunday service (8am-midnight) to observe the holiday

New Year's Eve, Sunday, December 31: standard Sunday service (8am-midnight). BART will be providing 1am Extended Service for late night riders coming back from the New Year's Fireworks show in San Francisco or other celebrations. 

New Year's Day, Monday, January 1: Sunday service (8am-midnight) to observe the holiday

Parking

Parking is always free after 3pm and on weekends. Parking will also be free on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. This applies to all BART stations except for Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose, as they are operated by VTA.

All other parking rules will be enforced.

For those travelling during the holidays and taking BART to the airport, you can purchase multi-day parking in advance through the BART official app. Check out our guide on how to pay for multi-day parking for airport riders.

Download the BART app to pay for parking and trip planning:

Apple App Store 

Google Play Store 

Join the fun! Click here to download BART-themed holiday cookie templates!

Holiday coloring sheets:

BART Kwanzaa.pdf

BART Pandoru.pdf

BART Hanukkah.pdf

BART Christmas.pdf 

The U.S. Department of Transportation is providing BART $14.1 million to install Level 2 EV charging ports at all BART-managed parking facilities. These charging stations will be available for BART riders as well as community members who live nearby stations and have been hesitant to buy an electric vehicle because of a lack of convenient charging options.

“BART already strongly encourages riders to walk, bike or take other public transit to our stations,” said BART Sustainability Group Manager Monica Meagher. “This grant will allow us to jumpstart our efforts to expand the availability of EV chargers at all of our stations, which will provide our riders another environmentally friendly way to get to BART.”

BART is issuing a request for proposals to find a third-party partner to design, install, own, and operate the chargers. Construction is expected to begin in late 2025.

BART plans to prioritize EV deployment at stations in or near disadvantaged communities. Expanding EV charging at BART will support robust electric vehicle adoption across a wide range of socioeconomic groups. Providing EV charging at stations is consistent with BART’s sustainability goals and commitment to improving the Bay Area environment. Every weekday, BART riders save nearly 31,000 gallons of gas and directly reduce CO2e emissions by more than 600,000 pounds.

The award to BART is part of nearly $150 million the U.S. Department of Transportation is providing to five California projects to build zero-emission vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure. The funding comes through the Federal Highway Administration’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.