Search

For campers at Urban Adventure Camps, the day begins and ends at BART.  

The summer camp takes children ages eight through fifteen on daily field trips to some of the coolest spots in the Bay Area – museums, aquariums, botanic gardens, zoos glass blowing studios. No matter the activity, the campers take public transportation to get there. Depending on the session, home base is Rockridge, North Berkeley, or Lafayette stations.  

Riding transit for the campers isn’t just a “get from point A to point B” situation. For these energetic youngins, hopping on a train or bus or ferry is an adventure in and of itself. And while they explore the Bay – no cramped van or private bus or traffic jam required – they're gaining independence and learning how to navigate the vibrant region where they live.  

“It’s really fun to ride BART,” said Henry Wernli at Rockridge Station, rearing to hop on BART and start the day. The day's itinerary: take BART to 12th St./Oakland Station, catch an AC Transit bus to Jack London Square, hop on the San Francisco Bay Ferry, and walk to the Exploratorium.  

Wernli likes how the new train cars look – their colorful seats and big windows – and thinks riding BART is exciting. He also knows it’s important to know how to navigate the Bay Area, how to read maps, and understand timetables.  

“Riding transit is a good learning experience for when you’re older and you need to go to school or work,” he said. “It’s way better than driving.” 

When all fifteen campers arrived at the station, the kids could barely contain their energy as they flew toward the fare gates, ready to get on a train and start the day.  

Urban Adventure Camps founder and director Mike Dobson reminded campers not to run ahead while he handed each of them their Clipper BayPass cards to tap through the fare gates.  

Dobson reached out to BART to learn about BayPass because having to reload so many campers’ Clipper cards was a tedious process. A single Urban Adventures camper takes anywhere between 25 to 35 transit trips a week. With five groups of fifteen campers running at a time, that’s a collective 2,250 total trips a week! 

BayPass is the Bay Area’s all-in-one transit card that lets you take unlimited rides on all regional transit services. Organizations pay a flat fee for the service, and their employees, students – and in this case, campers – can ride as much local transit as they want. 

“Counselors used to have to carry a credit card and cash in their packs in case they needed to reload campers’ cards at a station,” Dobson said. “BayPass is easy. We’re not worried about how much is on the card. It lets us move quicker and smoother.”  

Dobson said the campers love riding transit, and parents that may have been hesitant at first "see the kids having fun and jump onboard.” 

“I’d never ridden BART before this camp,” said camper Eloise Lanzisera. She’s learned “it’s very useful when you’re trying to get somewhere quickly.”  

Added Amani Gilligan, “When you get on BART you can have so many adventures, and there’s no traffic so if you want to go to a movie, you won’t be late.” 

“And it’s honestly really safe,” chimed Terra Williams. “You have a bunch of security and cameras.”  

Ella Whalen is just glad she doesn’t have to walk too much. “I like taking transit because it goes faster. Walking sometimes it makes my legs hurt because I play tennis a lot.”  

And for Wernli, riding BART is “doing your part” to help the earth.  

“Transit like BART saves the planet because it doesn’t make fumes,” he said before launching into an explanation of greenhouse gases and climate change. “BART is a really good thing.”  

BART plans to move forward with the planned sunsetting of the EZ Rider Parking program. Existing EZ Rider customers may not be able to tap their Clipper card at the Parking Validation Machines (PVMs) as soon as July 1, 2024. Customers are encouraged to transition to Tap and Go Parking on the BART Official App, a new feature that allows for parking payment with one tap on the app. No hangtags or stall numbers needed. 

The software and machines supporting the EZ Rider parking program have reached the end of their useful life and are not compatible with the next generation of Clipper, necessitating the end of the program. 

EZ Rider customers can transition in two easy steps: 

1. Close your EZ Rider account. Log into ezrider.bart.gov, make sure your credit/debit card information is up-to-date, and close your account. A refund will be issued to the credit/debit card on file. A step-by-step EZ Rider account closure guide is available here. 
2. Register for Tap and Go on the BART Official App. Download the BART Official App, create an account, and register for Tap and Go under Daily Fee parking. No hangtags and no stall numbers needed. Pay for parking with one tap on the app.  

Riders who use Tap and Go have a smaller purse requirement compared to EZ Rider ($25 on Tap and Go, compared the $60+ on EZ Rider). Riders have more payment options on our app, including Paypal or Venmo.  

Existing EZ Rider customers may also choose to pay for Daily Fee parking as needed on the BART Official App without enrolling in Tap and Go, or pay for Daily Fee parking using credit, debit, or cash at the machines in the station (stall number required). 

For more information and FAQs, visit bart.gov/ezrider. 

This article was originally posted on April 9, 2024. 

The week of September 3rd, BART will begin the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates on the concourse level of 24th Street/Mission Station. The first set of gates to be replaced will be those located next to the Station Agent Booth closest to 24th and Mission streets. 

While work happens on installing the first set of Next Generation Fare Gates, the second array of old gates will remain open for riders. There will be signage to direct riders to the open gates. Once the installation of the first set of new gates is complete, work will begin on the second array.

A temporary barrier will be installed to provide a safe workspace for the installation team as well as to protect riders from construction. Each new array is expected to take about two weeks to install. The latest work comes after BART successfully installed Next Generation Fare Gates at Civic Center, Fruitvale, and West Oakland stations. 

All BART stations will have new fare gates by the end of 2025. You can learn more about BART’s Next Generation Fare Gate project at bart.gov/about/projects/fare-gate. Riders can provide feedback about the new gates at bart.gov/comments.

On November 1, BART will begin the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates on the concourse level of Powell Street Station. The installation work will happen in stages so riders can continue to use the remaining current gates while new ones are being installed. There will be additional BART staff as well as signage to direct riders to the open gates. Installing each new array is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. The work is anticipated to continue into December when all six fare gate arrays are replaced at Powell Street Station.

A temporary barrier will be installed around the array to provide a safe workspace for the installation team as well as to protect riders from construction. The work will not impact train service, but riders may experience a few extra minutes wait to pass through the fare gates during peak travel hours.

The latest work comes after BART has successfully installed Next Generation Fare Gates at eight other stations across the system. All 50 BART stations will have new fare gates by the end of 2025. You can learn more about BART’s Next Generation Fare Gate project here. Riders can provide feedback about the new gates at bart.gov/comments.

The week of December 1, BART will begin the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates on the concourse level of 12th Street/Oakland City Center Station. The installation work will happen in stages so riders can continue to use the remaining current gates while new ones are being installed. There will be additional BART staff as well as signage to direct riders to the open gates. Installing each new array is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. The work is anticipated to continue into January to allow for the replacement of all six fare gate arrays at 12th Street/Oakland City Center Station.

A temporary barrier will be installed around the array to provide a safe workspace for the installation team as well as to protect riders from construction. The work will not impact train service, but riders may experience a few extra minutes wait to pass through the fare gates during peak travel hours.

The latest work comes after BART has successfully installed Next Generation Fare Gates at ten other stations across the system. All 50 BART stations will have new fare gates by the end of 2025. You can learn more about BART’s Next Generation Fare Gate project here. Riders can provide feedback about the new gates at bart.gov/comments.

Before revenue service began on Friday, July 5, 2024, BART crews found a rail defect on a trackway near 19th Street/Oakland Station.

No BART stations are closed but the Red Line is cancelled. We anticipate the Red Line to be cancelled all day but back in service tomorrow. Crews will make the necessary repairs tonight after revenue service ends. The rail defect does not appear to be heat related. Red Line trains will show as cancelled in real time departures and the Trip Planner. 

• San Francisco bound passengers coming from the Richmond direction who would normally take a Red Line train should take an Orange Line Berryessa train and transfer to a Yellow Line San Francisco train at MacArthur Station. 
• Richmond bound riders from Millbrae should board a shuttle train to SFO, then take the Yellow Line and transfer to an Orange Line train at MacArthur Station.

The incident is not causing major delays. 

BART Service Alerts are available via email, text, or customized push notifications in our official BART app. 

Text and email opt-in: http://cloud.info.bart.gov/signup 

On our app, select the profile icon and then notification settings. Set as many as you need for exactly when you typically ride BART. You will get push notifications of our alerts only during the selected times.