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Tens of millions of people ride BART every year -- to work, dates, practice, friends, and fun. BART Connects tells their stories. 

Today, June 22, BART Communications is launching the second edition of BART Connects, a storytelling series that features real BART riders who span generations, neighborhoods, and walks of life. You can read their stories now at bart.gov/bartconnects. 

In the coming months, the stars of BART Connects will take us for a ride in a series of video featurettes that will be regularly posted on BART social media. Below, watch the first video, featuring Grammy-winning musician Fantastic Negrito.  

 

 

 

 

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You will also see the faces of BART Connects riders in advertising spaces in the BART System and across the region. 

BART Connects grew out of a call for rider stories BART Communications launched in 2023 to learn how our transit system impacts people’s lives. The initial response made clear that BART means something to those who ride it. 

Have a cool BART story to share? Submit a short summary at bart.gov/story. You may be the next BART Connects feature! 

"BART connects me to the first audience I ever had.” 

— FANTASTIC NEGRITO —

BART TROUBADOUR

“BART connected me to my dream.”

— NATASHA OON —

BART GOLFER

"The Bay is my siren. It pulls me in towards murky waters of Lake Merritt and tells me I am a spring."

— SEHINNE YOHANNES —

BART POET

“Seniors like me who have given up driving need BART.” 

— NAOMI "NONA" HULME —

LIFELONG RIDER

"BART is the cornerstone of what makes my life in the Bay Area unique."

— TOMMY JUNG —

BART FISHERMAN

“Knowing how to ride public transit is a big step in growing up.”

— ENZO WU & APARDEEP SINGH —

TEEN TRANSIT CHAMPIONS

“BART girl math: I can maximize sleep by doing my makeup on the train and still sneak in a nap each way.” 

— MARIAH —

BART INFLUENCER

“BART is integral to the long-term success of Bay Area downtowns.” 

— ISAAC ABID —

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPER

Bay Area riders can now plan and book short Uber trips — ranging from two to seven miles — to and from BART stations directly within the Official BART App. This exciting partnership between BART and Uber Transit is part of BART’s ongoing commitment to enhance the customer experience by expanding and modernizing technology solutions that offer riders more flexible, convenient ways to get where they need to go.  

BART is partnering with Uber Transit to fully integrate seamless end-to-end journey planning and payment all within the BART app. Riders will no longer need to use multiple apps to plan their BART trip and plan and pay for an Uber ride. Everything can be done without leaving the BART app, and the total trip time will be displayed, making things faster and easier for users. 

Uber Transit is focused nationwide on supporting transit agencies to provide low-cost paratransit trips and to solve first/last mile challenges. This new partnership addresses a key challenge within the Bay Area’s transit network: providing reliable connections for people whose starting location or destination is too far to comfortably walk to a station or bus stop or is underserved by frequent bus or rail service. 

Read BART + Uber Integration FAQs here

“Embracing technology to help people leave their cars at home and reduce congestion is a shared value within the Bay Area,” said Bob Powers, BART’s General Manager. “Collaborating with Uber will help attract new riders and will simplify the process for those who take Uber to and from BART stations. This partnership will also expand access options as we build more housing in place of parking lots at stations.” 

“Uber Transit is proud to partner with BART to bridge the crucial first/last mile challenge, helping transit agencies close gaps that too often keep people from getting where they need to go,” said Chris Margaronis, Head of Transit Partnerships at Uber.  “By integrating Uber rides directly into the BART app, we’re simplifying travel, expanding access, and making public transit a more flexible, reliable option for everyone — especially those in underserved areas. Together, we’re reimagining how people move across the Bay Area.”  

“No longer having to use multiple platforms to plan, book, and pay for a trip involving BART and Uber is a game changer for our riders,” said Ravi Misra, BART’s Chief Information Officer. “Providing this simple option on the BART app shows how innovation can improve access to BART and increase ridership.” 

The BART and Uber partnership includes a special, limited time $5 Uber trip discount at the launch of the program for trips starting or ending at the following ten selected BART stations: 

• Antioch 
• Bay Fair 
• Concord 
• Daly City 
• Fruitvale 
• Lake Merritt 
• MacArthur 
• Richmond 
• Walnut Creek 
• West Oakland 

Riders can take advantage of the special $5 discount up to six times over seven calendar days. 

These stations were selected based on locations where people may not live on a bus line and in a way to ensure bus ridership is not significantly impacted. Great care has been taken to ensure sustainable and active modes of transportation remain featured in BART’s Trip Planner.  

In addition to Uber trips, BART’s popular multimodal Trip Planner continues to include walking and biking options as well as other transit, bike-share, and scooter-share options for getting to and from BART stations. Riders can also customize preferences such as walking and biking speeds for planning their trips. To enhance regional transit coordination, BART’s Trip Planner includes the schedules for regional rail service, such as Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, and ACE, as well as buses, ferries, and cable cars. During times when BART is experiencing major service disruptions, transit riders can plan itineraries that don’t include BART as an option to help them get around.   

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. 

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. 

Michael Cox, a Principal Performance Analyst in BART’s Sustainability Department, grew up gardening with his mom and recycling with his dad in New York.

“My parents were farmers when they were kids, and they always taught me the importance of protecting the environment and being one with your surroundings,” Cox said recently during an interview at BART Headquarters.

When Cox was studying environmental science at Stanford University, he realized he was especially passionate about climate change. Fieldwork wasn’t for him – “I just wasn’t very good at it,” he said – so he decided to “attack the issue using a computer, with data.”

Read more about Cox’s unique role at BART and how he uses data to support the District’s sustainability efforts. And check out the 2022 Sustainability Report here, published today, which highlights BART's efforts to support and enhance sustainability within the BART system and region. Says General Manger Robet Powers: "BART is one of the greenest options for Bay Area residents traveling around the region."

1. How long have you worked for BART?

I have worked at BART for 3.5 years.

2. What’s your role at BART?

I am a Principal Performance Analyst in the Sustainability Department. I calculate our energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste generation, and I implement programs that can improve our performance in those areas.

3. If you can remember, what is your earliest memory of riding the trains?

My earliest memory of riding BART was during undergrad. I attended Stanford, and I needed to go to Berkeley to do some research at farmers markets. I took Caltrain to Millbrae and then BART to Berkeley. I remember being confused whether BART was an urban subway or commuter train, but now I know it’s kind of like both!

4. What’s something that might surprise us about your job?

I think a lot of times in the sustainability field, you get pushback from folks afraid of change and adjusting their behavior. We’re really lucky in California that people are already pretty aware of the challenges we face in terms of climate change and environmental pollution. It’s nice to have coworkers and members of the public that are really supportive of the work we do and excited by the progress we’re making.

5. Name your favorite BART station or route and tell us why you like it. 

My favorite BART station is Lake Merritt. It was the station closest to me when I lived in Oakland, and I loved how convenient it was to get to downtown Oakland or the lake. There’s a lot of nice scenery in the area.

My favorite line is definitely the Oakland Airport Connector. It’s just nifty to ride on!

6. What do you typically do to pass the time on the train?

Usually, I play games on my phone. I’m playing Wordle or Spelling Bee from the New York Times, or I’m playing Fire Emblem Heroes, which is a strategy role-playing game.

7. What’s on your desk besides your computer?

On my desk at the office, I have a water bottle, lots of pens and pencils – even though I don’t write that much – and I have some art that my mom made. She’s a sculptor so I love having her pieces. I have some other gifts that I received from previous jobs: a framed photo of a Muni bus – I worked at SFMTA before BART – a model BART car, and a stress ball.

8. If you acquired a decommissioned legacy BART car, what would you transform it into?

If I had a bunch of them, I would make an escape room attraction where each BART car is a different task you have to complete.

9. Here’s your chance to brag. What’s something cool about BART you’d like to highlight?

One thing we’re always bragging about is how clean the electricity is that powers our system. In 2022, 100% of the electricity powering the core system came from greenhouse-gas free sources. BART is one of the best ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions associated with travel. We’re able to procure our own electricity, and that gives us the ability to negotiate our power purchase agreements to secure renewable and greenhouse gas-free energy.

10. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned at BART? 

You have to be patient. We work for a public agency and that means we have to get input from a lot of stakeholders before we make decisions, and that’s because we need to ensure we’re using our taxpayer funds appropriately. If you think something is going to take time, add a little more for a buffer and make sure you’re engaging with as many people as you can. It’s much easier to get buy in from different groups on things if they know what’s coming down the pipeline and feel included when decisions are made.