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Read more stories and see interactive maps about BART’s impact at bart.gov/impact.

BART's Impact

How do you measure BART's impact on the Bay Area?

You might look at the numbers. In fiscal year 2024, for example, BART contributed an estimated $2.7 billion* in economic activity to the five counties it serves. Another metric: Riders traveled over 750 million miles that same year – that's nearly a billion miles traveled on our tracks! 

But other impacts go beyond stats and figures: BART makes people’s lives easier, BART reduces traffic, BART helps the environment. Numbers don't tell the whole story.

So, where to begin? Let's start small. 

Case Study: Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Station

To understand BART’s impact, we will start by looking at a single station – Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre. From this zoomed-in vantage point, we can illustrate how just one station transforms and sustains not just a neighborhood, but a broad community of residents, workers, businesses, travelers, and families. 

Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Station sits at the convergence of Highway 680, the Iron Horse pedestrian and bicycle trail, multiple hotels and office buildings, and a vibrant mixed-use transit village with restaurants, gyms, bars, a dance school, 600-plus apartment complex, the list goes on . The station is the beating heart that enables these resources to exist and prosper.  BART stations are not simply destinations -- stops on a line to get you here and there. 

BART stations create destinations. 

"Locating by a BART station is a great move for businesses. You have in-built customers, who are coming and going from the station, you can increase capacity by not needing a parking lot, and your employees can get to work affordably."

- BART Director Matt Rinn, whose district includes Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Station. 

We connected with local homeowners, small business owners, a commuter, a major hotel chain, restaurants, neighborhood hangouts, and an apartment complex to understand firsthand why BART is essential to their bottom lines and the well-being of their community. 

View a larger version of the interactive map by clicking here. 

Friday, August 9, was a thrilling and long-awaited day for the Western Railway Museum (WRM) as the railroad history museum received the first of three decommissioned legacy BART cars for its forthcoming Rapid Transit History Center.  

The museum was awarded the three retired cars – an A, B, and C car – following a call for proposals in 2021 that selected eight recipients to receive decommissioned cars (two recipients later declined). BART officially retired its legacy fleet, which carried passengers for more than 50 years since the opening of the system, at a ceremony and final ride in April 2024. All 55 trains in service are now made up of new cars. 

BART’s legacy cars have a tremendous sentimental value with passengers in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and we wanted to ensure the historic vehicles would have a second life, or more accurately, second lives. The chosen six groups will reuse their cars for a multitude of purposes, including a short-term rental in the Sierras, a bike shop and clubhouse for Oakland youth, a dining car with retro arcade games, and more. The Hayward Fire Department picked up their car earlier this year for its new Regional Fire Training Center.  

There was one major catch the recipients had to agree to: BART would give the cars to the groups for free, but they had to transport the cars from their temporary home at BART’s Hayward shops to their final destinations.  

As you can imagine, moving a 64,000-pound BART car is not something that can be accomplished with your average trailer hitch. It requires a flatbed truck with a yellow “OVERSIZE” banner as well as a crane for getting the car off the bed. Moving just one car costs thousands of dollars.  

The Western Railway Museum raised money to make sure they could get the cars to their new temporary home in Car House 3 until their proposed Rapid Transit History Center is completed. The history center will educate the public about BART and its history of innovation. In addition to the three cars, which the public will be able to enter and explore, the center will include displays, videos, a set of wheels from the front of a cab car, third rail equipment, and the antennas that enable the train to pick up power and communicate with train control. In all, the history center will celebrate the "amazing technology of the 'world's first' automated rapid transit system," said Bob Simon, a retired BART Engineering and Operations Manager who sits on the Western Railway Museum's board of directors.

"The creation and implementation of cutting-edge technologies began with BART's visionaires understanding the great challenge to design a new transit concept. They were not unlike the visionaries who went on to build Silicon Valley," he continued, offering his thanks for the support and enthusiasm of BART General Manager Bob Powers, the BART Board of Directors, and the museum's dedicated volunteers and staff.

So what does it take to move a BART car? Western Railway Museum staff found out firsthand on August 9 when they showed up to the Hayward shops with a flatbed truck and helping hands. BART employees prepared for their visit by transferring the car  – #1164 – from its holding track (where the soon-to-be-decommissioned legacy cars are held) to the shop bay with a crane.  

When the truck arrived from Salazar Heavy Haul – the same company that delivered BART’s Fleet of the Future cars – BART staff hooked the car up to the crane and attempted to load it on the bed. There was an unforeseen problem: The undercar equipment was just a few inches too big for the truck bed, so BART staff had to improvise by removing the battery box and HVAC underneath it. Most decommissioned cars won’t have this problem as they’ll be picked up with the wheels and mounts removed. That wouldn’t do for Western Railway Museum, however.  

“They want everything on the cars so they are as authentic as possible,” explained Brian Tsukamoto, BART Manager of Special Projects – Decommissioning. “They’ll be coming back to pick up the battery box and HVAC.”  

Once the temporarily modified car was loaded and secured by the highly skilled driver, it was on its way from Hayward to Suisun City up north. A sign in its front window read: “I’m going to the Western Railway Museum.” 

At the museum, the team unloaded the car from the truck using a rented crane and used conversion dollies to allow the car, built for BART’s wide gauge, to be maneuvered on their standard-gauge track. Then, using a former Muni work train locomotive, they zig-zagged the car to Car House 3 and unloaded it onto the BART gauge track they built for it. To save on cutting concrete and rebar, a steel rail strap bridge was fabricated to get the car over the car house door foundation and the public walkway to its platform. 

The process will soon be repeated with the B and C cars, which the museum is working to schedule with BART staff and Salazar Heavy Haul. We’ll be sharing updates.  

Learn more about the Western History Museum here and the Legacy Fleet Decommissioning project  here. 

BART wants to hear your design ideas for the 16th St. Mission BART Plazas.  

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 6pm to 8pm, BART is hosting a Community Open House at the 1950 Mission Street Community Room.  BART invites the community to join in this collaborative open house where together we will reimagine the 16th Mission BART transit plazas located at the heart of the 16th & Mission corridor. 

The plazas are a canvas that are poised to be activated, more welcoming, and safer.  

We want to hear from you: What's working and what’s not? How can we reimagine and enliven the space to make it safer and friendlier? 

Join us at the open house to share your thoughts and ask BART staff your questions. 

BART has invested money to conduct this outreach portion of the project.  Additional funding will need to be secured for design and construction of a final plan.

BART will be accepting applications for membership on the BART Police Citizen Review Board (BPCRB) from Monday, July 8, 2024 - Thursday, August 8, 2024. This appointment will be made by BART Director Melissa Hernandez, District 5.

As a volunteer of the BPCRB, members work to increase the public's confidence in BART's policing services by:

• Reviewing, recommending, and monitoring the implementation of changes to police policies, procedures, and practices
• Receiving citizen allegations of on-duty police misconduct
• Advising Board of Directors, General Manager, Independent Police Auditor, and Police Chief
• Participating in recommending appropriate disciplinary action
• Meeting periodically with representatives of the BART Police associations
• Participating in community outreach

Member Qualifications 

Members must:

• Reside within Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, or San Mateo counties
• Be fair-minded and objective
• Have demonstrated commitment to community service
• Not be currently employed in a law enforcement capacity, either sworn or non-sworn 
• Not be a relative of current or former BART Police Department personnel
• Have no felony convictions

Duration of Service

All appointments to the BPCRB are for a term of two years. There are no term limits. 

How to Apply

To learn more about the BPCRB and/or how to apply for appointment, visit our website at bart.gov/about/bod/advisory/crb. Access the digital application here and the print application below. 

Please send an email to [email protected] or call (510) 464-6083 with any questions.

Application period closes on Thursday, August 8, 2024

Documents

BPCRB Recruitment Flyer (.doc)

Application for BPCRB - District 5 (.doc)

BPCRB General Information (.doc)

Children’s Fairyland is turning 75, and BART is helping the beloved Oakland institution celebrate! 

On Monday, September 1, BART will help kickstart Fairyland’s 75th Birthday Party with a joyful sidewalk parade through the heart of Oakland. Fairyland is a BARTable partner.  

Families, friends, neighbors, and community partners will gather at 19th St./Oakland Station at 9:30am and walk together along Broadway, down 21st Street and the Lake Merritt Trail, and end at the front gates of Fairyland just in time for the party to begin. 

The BARTmobile will greet paradegoers in front of Fairyland, wearing a special birthday hat and ready for photos with fans. The BART mascot will be surrounded by balloons, a giant rainbow parachute game, circus performers, and more. Once inside, guests will enjoy a full day of activities, entertainment, food, music, and birthday magic.  

This short community parade is intended to promote public transit, energize Downtown Oakland, and build excitement for the big birthday bash. AC Transit and the San Francisco Bay Ferry will also be on hand to celebrate.  

Everyone is encouraged to ride transit, walk, or roll to the parade. Costumes (and BART swag!), signs, and noisemakers are encouraged.  

Please note: The parade is free and open to all, but entry into Fairyland for the 75th Birthday Party requires purchased tickets. All guests must be accompanied by a child to enter the park, unless they are a registered community partner with an activation during the celebration.

Visit Fairyland’s website for more info on what to expect at the birthday party and to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets will be sold at the door.  

What: Fairyland’s Big Birthday Party Parade 

Time: 9:30am to 10:00am 

Start/end: 19th St. Station → Children’s Fairyland front gates 

Walk time: About 15 minutes 

Let us know you’re coming: BARTFairylandParade.eventbrite.com (RSVPing is optional) 

Driving ridership through community partnerships   

The Fairyland Big Birthday Party Parade is part of BART Marketing’s efforts to boost ridership and foster stronger ties with local communities through strategic partnerships. BART partners with over 250 local organizations annually, helping to significantly expand the reach of our messaging. These partnerships come at no cost to BART and promote that taking BART is fun, in addition to being convenient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly.  

Since the pandemic, ridership on nights and weekends is growing faster than commute ridership. While people may not be going into the office as often as they used to, they are going to games, shows, museums, and other fun events that can only be experienced in person. Our partnerships lean into this.   

Discover more BARTable fun at bart.gov/bartable and check out our Rider Guides page with tips for how to get to local sports and entertainment venues by BART.    

Every year, BART celebrates Engineers Week in recognition of the more than 180 engineers who are committed to imagining and executing the future of the BART system. BART is the Bay Area, and the future of our transportation system is deeply entwined with the future of this region. Our engineers provide us a roadmap for the fast-approaching horizon, reshaping how we experience and interact with our world.  

BART is unique in that it’s home to many different engineering disciplines – construction, computer systems, electrical, mechanical, traction power, corrosion, and more! The projects our engineers undertake are like puzzles with hundreds of thousands of pieces, all of which must fit together just right to make a functioning whole. Our engineers’ ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness get this tough work done.  

The theme of Engineers Week 2025 is Design Your Future – “both a call to action and a celebration of the limitless possibilities in engineering,” writes DiscoverE, which established Engineers Week more than 70 years ago. How far we’ve come! 

In 2025, BART engineers are not just “designing” the future, but implementing it. It’s going to be a big year for BART, and so we reached out to the engineers themselves to tell you about some of the exciting projects BART has in store for 2025 and why they’re proud to be a part of it.  

And speaking of the future – we're now looking for our 2025 class of engineering interns! Since 2018, BART has hired 15 internship participants as junior engineers, including four from last year’s program – it's a great way to get your foot in the door and gain hands-on, practical engineering experience.  

Visit bart.gov/internships for information on eligibility and how to apply.  

Next-Generation Fare Gates Project 

BART has made the historic purchase of brand-new fare gates to be installed systemwide as part of its latest effort to improve the customer experience and overhaul safety in the system. The new fare gates bring a new look and improved experience, offering state-of-the-art technology that will boost safety by reducing fare evasion, enhancing access for people in wheelchairs and those who bring bikes and strollers on BART, and optimizing the reliability and maintenance needs of the fare gates. 

A photo of the new fare gates at Embarcadero Station.  

Michael Gerbracht, Senior Manager of Engineering Programs 

"Creating an environment where passengers feel safe, comfortable, and are happy to ride our trains is crucial. The fare gates are something that riders from across the Bay Area have been excited to see implemented for years, and it is great to be able to deliver for them.  

I am so proud of the way the team – and really the entire District - has stepped up to the challenge of delivering the new fare gates."

John Yen, Manager of Computer Systems Engineering 

"The part I am personally proud of is our staff’s ability to stay flexible and adapt to changing project conditions and project complexity. There are a lot of varying site conditions and prep work by multiple disciplines (electrical, communications, buildings, etc.) before the new fare gates can be installed. This project effectively is rolling three projects into one!"

San Francisco Station Escalator and Canopy Project 

The San Francisco Station Canopy Project will not only protect new escalators being installed from the wear-and-tear of elements like rain and wind-swept debris, but they will provide an added layer of station security and cleanliness through motorized gates that allow the entrances to be locked at street level when stations are closed. At present, 14 canopies have been completed, and three canopies are under construction, with an additional four canopies to be constructed in the future. The project is happening in concurrence with the San Francisco Station Escalator Replacement Project, which is installing and replacing a total of 45 escalators at Downtown San Francisco stations.  

A photo of the new canopy at Embarcadero Station. 

David Silva, Project Manager for the Market Street Canopies Project 

"In addition to providing weather protection for patrons and escalators, the canopies assist with placemaking, providing easily recognizable entrances to the stations. They also feature real-time displays to provide patrons with train and bus schedule information as well as security features such as improved lighting, cameras, and grilles that secure the entrances at street level at night. 

This project requires an enormous amount of coordination. I am very proud of how the entire project team has come together with the invaluable assistance of BART Government and Community Relations to keep the community, including neighboring businesses, rideshare companies, and other stakeholders informed about the project while working to understand and address their concerns."

Elliott Kolto, Principal Mechanical Engineer   

"To date, the project has successfully completed the replacement of 17 escalators, with 24 remaining and three to six undergoing replacement at any given time. The new escalators are more modern and reliable with updated safety features, technology, and maintainability. 

I am proud to be a part of this project and work with the team of engineers, maintenance, project management, and construction management, who are working so hard together to make this project successful and improve the customer experience."

Traction Power Substation Restoration and Construction 

Traction power facilities take incoming power from PG&E and convert it to 1,000 Volts (V) Direct Current (DC) power for BART’s third-rail system. The facilities also monitor, regulate, and ensure safe distribution of power throughout the system. Two new power substations by Civic Center and Montgomery St. Stations will be coming online this year, and another substation east of the Transbay Tube is currently undergoing full renovation. BART is also upgrading and restoring substations, including the Oakland facility mentioned below. 

A photo of 34.5kV cable replacement and fiber optic installation between the Coliseum and Union City. 

Gordon Wong, Principal Electrical Engineer  

"The restoration of Downtown Oakland’s KTT substation, which failed last year after experiencing a fault, allows trains to operate at full speed, reducing delay and transfer times at MacArthur and 19th Street Station.  

Having the substation back in service allows for redundancy in the network; there are now multiple substations able to supply power to the area, meaning customers will have a faster, more streamlined experience.  

I am proud to work with the dedicated members of engineering and maintenance, who share the common goal of making sure BART is working for those who rely on us."  

East Bay Rail Replacement 

BART is replacing aging track, among other rebuilding projects that impact reliability, with funding from voter-approved bond Measure RR. The equipment being replaced is decades-old and has outlived its design life. 

Engineers on the Yellow Line trackway between Pleasant Hill and Concord stations.  

Girish Koli, Senior Manager of Engineering Programs 

"I am proud to be part of this project as it improves safety for BART staff and reduces the maintenance burden. It will also enhance customer experience by providing patrons with a smoother and quieter ride.  

This project was added to my portfolio last year, and I’ve been amazed to see how much hard work, coordination, and dedication many staff members have devoted to ensuring this is a successful project for BART."

Zeeshan Ali, Division Manager Traction Power Engineering (Interim) 

"Traction Power Engineering recently completed several projects that significantly enhance the reliability and safety of BART’s electrical infrastructure. These upgrades offer a more dependable, faster, and safer transit experience for riders across the Bay Area. 

I am proud of myself and my team for the contributions we’ve made and continue to make in connecting Bay Area communities."

The BART Board of Directors during its meeting today unanimously elected Melissa Hernandez to serve as its president for the 2026 term. Hernandez served as Board Vice President for the 2025 term. She is the first Latina to serve on the BART Board of Directors and now becomes the first Latina to serve as Board President. 

Hernandez will lead the BART Board during what’s expected to be a defining year for the future of the agency. BART faces a budget deficit of up to $400 million now that state and federal emergency funds have been exhausted and an uncertain future if a new source of reliable long-term funding can’t be secured.  

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president,” President Hernandez said following her election. “I truly believe this year will define BART for decades to come if we continue to put riders first and work together as a team to face the challenges ahead of us. I am confident people will look back on 2026 as the year we secured BART’s future as the essential backbone of the Bay Area transit network.” 

First appointed to the Board on May 23, 2024, to fill the vacancy for District 5, Hernandez was elected in November 2024.  

District 5 is in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and includes a portion of the City of Hayward, ranging from Castro Valley Station in the north to Hayward Station in the south. It also includes the City of Pleasanton (except for a portion near Kilkare Woods), the City of Livermore, the City of Dublin, the southeastern part of San Ramon, and rural areas in east Alameda County. 

Previously, Hernandez served as a City of Dublin councilmember for eight years and also served as the city’s mayor for four years until June 2024. She has chaired three regional transit boards: the Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA), Tri Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Transportation Authority (Valley Link), and the Finance Committee of the Alameda County Transportation Commission.  

Director Edward Wright elected as BART Board Vice President 

The Board of Directors also unanimously elected District 9 Director Edward Wright as Board Vice President. Wright was elected to serve on the board in November 2024.  

District 9 is in San Francisco and includes the following stations: 16th St Mission, 24th St. Mission, Embarcadero (shared with District 8), Civic Center/UN Plaza, Glen Park (shared with District 8), Montgomery (shared with District 8), and Powell St. (shared with District 8). 

Prior to joining the BART Board, Edward led transportation policy and communications for three local legislators; served as a Transit Strategy and Communications Advisor for the SFMTA and as President of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club; and organized a range of political campaigns, civic and community events, marches, and direct actions.  

“I believe this will be the most consequential year since BART was created, and I take this role and the responsibility that comes with it very seriously,” Vice President Wright said during the board meeting. “I came here to try to do something and will do so by working together collaboratively with my colleagues. Let’s go!” 

BART Police is participating in National Night Out, a community-building event held on the first Tuesday in August every year. This year, BART Police will host two events, and BART employees and their families are invited to join in. The events will be held at Bay Fair and Millbrae stations and will feature games, music, food, and opportunities to interact with BART Police officers and staff.  

First introduced in 1984, National Night Out aims to enhance the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement. BART Police has participated in the campaign for over a decade.

Both events are from 4-7pm on Tuesday, August 6.

Bay Fair Station

15242 Hesperian Blvd, San Leandro

Hosted by Community Service Officer Susie Johnston 

Millbrae Station

200 North Rollins Rd, Millbrae

Hosted by Crisis Intervention Specialist Remberto Calero 

BART invites the public to join us to mark and celebrate the end of an era: the last run of BART’s legacy trains composed of rail cars that have been serving the Bay Area for more than half a century. We’re calling the event “Riding into History: Final Run of the First Fleet.”

The retirement ceremony will begin at 1pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Oakland’s MacArthur Station with the and final dispatch of legacy trains happening after the speeches. 

We recommend arriving around noon to enjoy the food trucks and activities we have planned. 

The ceremony will take place in the plaza (free area) of the MacArthur station and will include food trucks (bayareamunchiez.com and noodle-cone.com), activity tables, a raffle for legacy car number plates, a pop-up merch store, and a stamp rally. Bring your stamp rally passport if you have one. Many of the groups who are repurposing old BART cars for new uses will be in attendance to share information about their projects. 

Following the ceremony, the public will line up in the plaza and then board a legacy train and ride from MacArthur to Fremont Station, mirroring the initial service BART provided when it opened September 11, 1972. It’s a 45-minute trip that travels along approximately 24 miles of the original section of tracks. There will be more than one legacy train for the event. The trains will make all station stops and may turn around at Bay Fair depending on the number of attendees waiting to ride.

Every rider will need to pay for the ride with their Clipper card. The fare depends on where each rider is going after the ride. 

“These train cars are part of the history of the Bay Area,” said Bob Powers, BART General Manager. “While we are excited to modernize the system, we recognize the profound cultural importance of these cars, and we want to celebrate their rich history and give them a proper send off.”

BART is able to completely retire the legacy fleet thanks to the success of the Fleet of the Future project. Seven hundred six new Fleet of the Future train cars are now certified for service – that’s 30 more cars than the legacy fleet inventory. A total of 720 new cars are on BART property as of April 1, 2024, and twenty cars a month are now being delivered to BART – twice as many as when the new cars first began to be delivered to the Hayward test track in 2016. 

While the April 20 trip will be the final time the public will be able to ride the legacy fleet cars, it won’t be the last opportunity to spend time with the historic vehicles.

Three legacy cars will be headed to the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City for preservation and to provide a space for transit enthusiasts, researchers, and museum guests to enjoy and study for years to come. The three cars, including an iconic sloped-front A car, will be the only cars from the legacy fleet to be displayed at a museum.

A handful of other legacy cars will be transferred to those who successfully submitted proposals to repurpose the cars for short-term rentals, entertainment venues, and training facilities. 

Most of the legacy cars, however, have been recycled, so April 20 is the last chance to ride these historic cars. 

BART is launching an early morning service blitz to help Cal fans get to the first ever appearance of ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show in Berkeley this Saturday, October 5. BART will offer five trains with limited stops before our regular Saturday service begins at 6am. The special early service will get fans to Downtown Berkeley Station around 5am, before the start of the pregame show. 

The special early morning event trains will only serve the following stations:  Daly City, 16th Street Mission, Powell, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Fremont, Dublin/Pleasanton, Bay Fair, Fruitvale, El Cerrito del Norte, and MacArthur. These 12 stations in addition to Downtown Berkeley will be the only ones opened for the special early service. Full details on our added early morning service are available in the Trip Planner at BART.gov and on the official BART app.

The added early morning trains will go out of service once they complete their trips. Riders cannot board a train at Downtown Berkeley before regular Saturday service begins at 6am. 

The game against Miami kicks off at 7:30pm. BART will run longer 8-car trains on the Red and Orange lines as well as add several event trains to its normal service that night to accommodate the anticipated crowds.

Special Service Details

*A northbound Red Line train will leave Daly City at 4:19am and will make stops at 16th Street Mission, Powell, and MacArthur before arriving at Downtown Berkeley Station at 4:55am. 

*A southbound Orange Line train will leave El Cerrito del Norte at 4:47am and arrive at Downtown Berkeley Station at 4:55am. 

*A northbound Orange Line train will leave Fremont at 4:13am and will make stops at Bay Fair, Fruitvale, and MacArthur before arriving at Downtown Berkeley at 4:55am.

*A westbound Blue Line train will depart Dublin/Pleasanton at 4:08am and stop at Bay Fair at 4:25am where riders can then transfer to the northbound Orange Line train to Downtown Berkeley at 4:25am.

*A southbound Yellow Line train will depart Pleasant Hill at 4:25am and make stops at Walnut Creek and Orinda before arriving at MacArthur Station at 4:45am where riders can transfer to the northbound Orange Line train to Downtown Berkeley at 4:50am.

Tips

BART parking is free on Saturdays. People driving to BART to take the early trains should park at one of the stations being served. There is no BART parking available at 16th Street Mission and Powell stations.

Once on the platform, the added trains will be labelled as: “Limited Stops to Downtown Berkeley.”

Load your Clipper card in advance with enough funds for the round trip.

If you don’t have a Clipper card, add one for free ($3 savings) to your phone’s wallet in advance and use Google Pay or Apple Pay.