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Buy the new BARTy Disability Pride Month sticker on Railgoods!

July is Disability Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. ADA law gives people with disabilities the ability to live, work, and move through the world with dignity and independence. For a transit agency, that mission is not abstract. Accessibility isn't an add-on at BART; it's foundational to how the system is built, operated, and improved. 

This July marks 36 years since the ADA became law, and BART continues to invest in the features, training, and community partnerships that make the system usable for everyone.  

A history rooted in advocacy 

Harold Willson is pictured on a BART train. Photo courtesy of Kaiser Permanente Heritage Resources.

The ADA was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. BART's commitment to accessibility predates the federal law. 

BART became the first major U.S. transit system to build elevator access into every station before the system opened in 1972. Elevators at every station was not in the original planning documents, but incorporated thanks to the work of pioneering disability rights advocate Harold Willson. His activism and direct collaboration with system directors led to mandatory accessibility upgrades across the system, including the requirement that every station have an elevator. Read more about Wilson’s contributions to BART here. 

Hale Zukas pictured at Ashby Station in July 2020. 

Another name central to BART's accessibility history is disability rights legend Hale Zukas, a key figure in the passage of the ADA itself. Zukas consulted directly with BART since the 1970s, and even helped design the button placement inside BART elevators so they'd be easy to reach for wheelchair users. Read more about Zukas in this article. 

Zukas cofounded the BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF) in 1975 and served as a member for 47 years. He passed away on November 30, 2022. 

About the BART Accessibility Task Force  

Photo caption: BART recently visited 19th St. Oakland Station with members of the Accessibility Task Force, including Chair Herb Hastings (far left), Roland Wong (second from left), and Sam Buman (far right) to walk through and take photos with the station's accessibility features. They were joined by Elena Van Loo (second from right), BART Sr. Admin. Analyst and liaison to the BATF in the Customer Access and Accessibility Department. 

The BATF meets monthly to advise the BART Board of Directors and staff on disability-related issues and advocates on behalf of people with disabilities and seniors to make the BART system accessible to people regardless of disability or age. 

One of the recent contributions of the BATF, along with other disability organizations, was endorsing a floor plan for BART's new train cars designed to meet the diverse needs of people with disabilities. Their consultations led to the modification of the cars’ floor plan so that passengers with more than one wheelchair user in their group could sit together, with both wheelchair areas relocated to the center door of each car and floor-to-ceiling poles removed to maximize accessible paths. Other resulting features include the third door per car, wider aisles, and intercoms positioned at wheelchair-accessible height. 

BATF members include Janice Armigo Brown, Hillary Brown (2nd Vice Chair), Sam Buman, Catherine Callahan, Clarence R. Fischer, Herb Hastings (Chair), Danny Kodmur, Daveed Mandell, Ryan Manriquez, Anita Ortega, Shana Ray, Joshua Saunders (Vice Chair), Esther Waltz, Roland Wong, and Bruce Yow.  

We thank the BATF for their contributions to making BART a system that is accessible for all.  

The BATF is actively recruiting new members. If you are interested or have questions email [email protected].  

Did you know? 

• In March 2026, BART rolled out new fare gate tones that are more pleasing and audible over station background noise, making stations more welcoming and simpler to navigate, especially for blind and low-vision riders.  
• BART has hosted sensory orientations to help riders who are blind or have low vision navigate the system, most recently in March 2026. 
• Every new and current BART Station Agent goes through Disability Awareness and Sensitivity Training. 

Disability Pride Month is a reminder of how far accessible transit has come and a recommitment to the work still ahead. Learn more about BART's accessibility features and resources at bart.gov/accessibility. 

Want to help make BART more accessible for seniors and people with disabilities? The BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF) is recruiting new members!                      

The BART Accessibility Task Force is a public committee comprised of BART riders to advise the BART Board of Directors and staff on disability-related issues and advocate on behalf of people with disabilities and seniors to make the BART system accessible to all.

The BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF) generally meets on the fourth Thursday of each month from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The BATF meetings are open to the public and are located at the East Bay Paratransit Office, 1750 Broadway, 1st floor conference room,  Oakland, CA 94612, which is adjacent to the 19th Street BART station street level elevator. Times and/or locations may vary for the November and December meetings.

BATF member responsibilities include the following:

1. Provide input on issues and policies; capital projects; compliance with local, state and federal legislation;  and other issues that might be brought to the BATF by the public, staff or the Board.
2. Develop recommendations which take into consideration the needs of people with different disabilities and seniors.
3. Participate in the development of proposed new policies and the planning and implementation of new services that affect people with disabilities and seniors who use BART.
4. Provide a public forum for discussion of all BART related issues concerning people with disabilities and seniors.
5. Act as a resource group to BART staff who interact with people with disabilities and seniors to answer complaints, develop new programs, solve architectural problems in the system, conduct staff disability training, and address other areas as needed.

To learn more about the BATF, please click here:  BART Accessibility Task force (BATF).

To become a member of the BATF, people have to attend three of four consecutive BATF meetings and then apply for membership. So come on by and check it out. Here is the schedule for upcoming meetings, as well as agendas from previous meetings: https://www.bart.gov/about/bod/advisory/accessibility

If you are interested or if you have any questions, please contact  Elena Van Loo at 510-874-7366  or by email at [email protected].

Want to help make BART more accessible for seniors and people with disabilities? The BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF) is recruiting new members!                       

The BART Accessibility Task Force is a public committee comprised of BART riders to advise the BART Board of Directors and staff on disability-related issues and advocate on behalf of people with disabilities and seniors to make the BART system accessible to all. 

The BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF) generally meets on the fourth Thursday of each month from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The BATF meetings are open to the public and are located at the East Bay Paratransit Office, 1750 Broadway, 1st floor conference room, Oakland, CA 94612, which is adjacent to the 19th Street BART station street level elevator. Times and/or locations may vary for the November and December meetings. 

BATF member responsibilities include the following: 

1. Provide input on issues and policies; capital projects; compliance with local, state and federal legislation; and other issues that might be brought to the BATF by the public, staff or the Board.
2. Develop recommendations which take into consideration the needs of people with different disabilities and seniors.
3. Participate in the development of proposed new policies and the planning and implementation of new services that affect people with disabilities and seniors who use BART.
4. Provide a public forum for discussion of all BART related issues concerning people with disabilities and seniors.
5. Act as a resource group to BART staff who interact with people with disabilities and seniors to answer complaints, develop new programs, solve architectural problems in the system, conduct staff disability training, and address other areas as needed. 

To learn more about the BATF, please click here:  BART Accessibility Task Force (BATF). 

To become a member of the BATF, people have to attend two of three consecutive BATF meetings and then apply for membership. So come on by and check it out. Here is the schedule for upcoming meetings, as well as agendas from previous meetings: https://www.bart.gov/about/bod/advisory/accessibility 

Remaining 2025 BATF meeting dates: 

• June 26, 2025, Thursday
• July 24, 2025, Thursday
• August 28, 2025, Thursday
• September 25, 2025, Thursday
• October 23, 2025, Thursday
• November 20, 2025, Thursday
• December 18, 2025, Thursday 

If you are interested or if you have any questions, please contact  Elena Van Loo at 510-874-7366  or by email at [email protected]. 

Kassandra Santillan pictured at Daly City Station, where she disembarks to get to her classes at SFSU.

Do you have a favorite BART memory or story to share? Email a short summary to BART Storyteller Michelle Robertson at [email protected], and she may follow up to schedule an interview.    

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." 

Growing up, Santillan often “felt really suffocated.” She’d hear stories of people going to Union Square at Christmastime or the mall at Powell Street, but “it wasn’t accessible to me.” 

“I never really got out much before,” she said. “BART opened the Bay to me. I had no idea it was so easy to get to all these great places.” Now, she takes BART pretty much everywhere. In addition to school, she’ll ride the train to the mall in Milpitas or the Embarcadero, where she walks the waterfront to Pier 39 and back.  

Santillan treasures her time on the train. She’ll do some drawing, finish up assignments, and sometimes just chill out.  

“Every day is so hectic as a college student,” she said. “Commuting is my time to unwind.”  

When she graduates, Santillan wants to be a clinical lab scientist. She’s wanted to be a scientist since meeting one in elementary school during career day.  

“I remember at the end of the day they asked everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them said teacher or a doctor,” she said. “I was one of the few who wanted to be a scientist.”  

“It’s pretty crazy to be studying in the field now,” she said. “It feels unreal sometimes. I know a lot of people who don’t get this opportunity.”  

Sometimes, she has to remind herself: “I’m really here, and I’m really doing this thing I’ve been trying to do all my life.”  

About the BART Connects Storytelling Series

The BART Connects storytelling series was launched in 2023 to showcase the real people who ride and rely on BART and illustrate the manifold ways the system affects their lives. You can follow the ongoing series at bart.gov/news. 

The series grew out of BART's Role in the Region Study, which demonstrates BART’s importance to the Bay Area’s mobility, cultural diversity, environmental and economic sustainability. We conducted a call for stories to hear from our riders and understand what BART means to them. The call was publicized on our website, social media, email blasts, and flyering at stations. More than 300 riders responded, and a selection of respondents who opted-in were interviewed for the BART Connects series.