Search

Search Results

Thousands attend BART’s 50th anniversary celebration

09.12.22 Posing for photos at BART’s 50th Anniversary Celebration and Family Fun Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. At 8 am on Saturday morning, Lake Merritt Station and Plaza were already abuzz with activity. Train tracks – un-electrified third rail included – sprawled across a small section of the plaza

BART sustains high ridership during Maze reconstruction

BART sets ridership records, weekday averages up BART carried an average of 9,274 more riders each weekday following the collapse of a portion of the MacArthur Maze on Sunday, April 29. Weekday ridership averaged 355,590 passengers from Monday, April 30 to Thursday, May 24. This was up from the 346,316 riders

BART issues statement on availability of lead negotiator

With regard to lead negotiator Tom Hocks's availability BART spokesperson Rick Rice said, "Mr. Hock is here today. He will be here tomorrow as previously scheduled and also next Monday and Tuesday and the rest of next week if the mediator deems it necessary to meet. At the time the mediators suggested the 30

BART's continued response to the New Year's Day shooting

Frequently Asked Questions >> Sign up for "BART News Headlines" to receive email updates >> 11.17.09 BART Police Department Review Committee to meet Nov. 25 10.26.09 BART Police Department Review Committee to meet Nov. 4 09.30.09 BART Police Department Review Committee to meet Oct. 5 09.29.09 NOBLE presents

Thousands attend BART’s 50th anniversary celebration

Watch the video

At 8 am on Saturday morning, Lake Merritt Station and Plaza were already abuzz with activity. Train tracks – un-electrified third rail included – sprawled across a small section of the plaza. An A-car nose (the pointy part at the front of the train) stood shining, awaiting the many selfies to come. And

BART commits to a future powered by wind and solar power

BART took bold action today to improve the climate footprint of the Bay Area’s transportation sector. Following BART’s adoption of an aggressive and industry-leading Wholesale Electricity Portfolio Policy in April 2017, the BART Board of Directors today approved two 20-year renewable energy power purchase

BART’s “Role in the Region” detailed in new report that describes the benefits of BART and the devastating impacts of a Bay Area without it

A black banner with white text reading "BART's Role in the Region" with text underneath reading "BART is integral to the San Francisco Bay Area's travel, economy, climate, housing, equity, culture, health, sustainability and affordability.

A new report released today paints a bleak picture of a Bay Area without BART while highlighting the benefits of the transit system to the region with a wide range of metrics.

Click here to view a pdf of the report and visit the project webpage at bart.gov/roleintheregion.  

BART's Role in the Region Report aims to inform a regional conversation about the future of BART by describing its contributions to the Bay Area. It also provides predictions for how the Bay Area – its economic viability, traffic-choked roadways, cultural institutions, and more – will look without BART.  

“The Bay Area and our regional transportation network have undergone significant changes since BART last conducted a Role in the Region study in 2016," said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “The 2024 Role in the Region Report arrives at a crucial crossroads for BART and the region, and the data, analyses, and stories within will serve as an important educational resource for the pivotal years ahead.”  

In the report, you will find insights into key topics, including changes in travel patterns and funding; BART’s holistic benefits to the Bay Area; and BART’s future.  

Below is a snapshot of some of the report’s findings: 

This graph compares the full roundtrip BART and driving costs for four common trip types with example origin and destination pairs: long distance commute (between West Dublin/Pleasanton and Embarcadero), local trips (Richmond and Downtown Berkeley), visiting tourist (San Francisco International Airport and Powell Street), and resident to airport (Walnut Creek and San Francisco International Airport). The comparison shows that full roundtrip BART costs range between $5 and $25.
Figure 1: BART is significantly more affordable than driving. Example: Taking BART from West Dublin/Pleasanton Station to Embarcadero Station costs $14. Driving the same route costs $95, including gas, tolls, parking, insurance, and maintenance.
This graphic compares hours per week drivers lost sitting in traffic under current conditions, and if 50 percent and 100 percent of April 2023 average weekday BART riders shift to driving. The comparison focuses on three example driving trips: Antioch to SFO, El Cerrito del Norte to Civic Center, and Fremont to Powell Street. The graphic shows that if 5ree example trips would experience between three to six additi0 percent of weekday BART riders shift to driving.
Figure 2: Without BART, regional traffic congestion would worsen. Example: Drivers could experience up to an additional 19 hours lost to congestion weekly.
Infographic with two sections. On the left, a pink icon of a car above text that reads "1.6M. Miles driven, or 4,000 cars driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles daily." On the right, a pink gas pump icon above text that says "70,000. Gallons of gasoline burned daily." Both sections have a purple background.
Figure 3: The regional transit network would fail to function if BART ceased to exist.
This graph compares office occupancy rate and BART ridership as a percentage of 2019 ridership from 2020 to 2023. Generally, the two data points trend closely, increasing from around 10% to 40%.
Figure 4: BART ridership is closely linked to regional office occupancy rates; both have recovered to ~43% of pre-pandemic levels.

  • BART’s benefits: 

    • BART is significantly more affordable than driving (Fig. 1 in slideshow). Example: Taking BART from West Dublin/Pleasanton Station to Embarcadero Station roundtrip costs $14. Driving the same route costs $95 when accounting for gas, tolls, parking, insurance, and maintenance. 
    • BART is integral to a connected regional transit network. Within a 15-minute walk of BART and one transfer to a connecting agency transit stop, you can reach 67% of the 9-county Bay Area region’s jobs, 61% of the region’s residents, and 60% of schools, parks, and libraries.
    • In 2023, BART contributed $1.2 billion to the economy through more than 5,000 jobs when accounting for BART’s direct payroll expenditures, local vendor spending, and employee expenditures. Between 2019 and 2023, BART infused the local economy with more than $3.7 billion in construction spending and $1.7 billion in construction labor income.

  • If BART did not exist: 

    • Regional traffic congestion would worsen. Example: Drivers could experience up to an additional 19 hours lost to congestion weekly (Fig. 2). 
    • Traffic could increase by 73% on the Bay Bridge and 22% in the Caldecott Tunnel during morning peak commute hours.  
    • The regional transit network would fail to function, and there would be cascading effects across the 300 bus, light rail, ferry, private shuttle, and inter-regional routes that connect to BART (Fig. 3). 

  • Changing regional travel trends: 

    • BART ridership is closely linked to regional office occupancy rates; both have recovered to ~43% of pre-pandemic levels (Fig. 4).
    • Because of BART’s decreased farebox recovery, BART expects a budget deficit beginning in 2026 when state and federal emergency assistance runs out.  

View the full Role in the Region Report. 

This image is the front cover of the BART’s Role in the Region Study report. The report cover shows a group of riders in a BART train on the top half and the Study’s title on the bottom half with a subtitle – BART is Integral to the San Francisco Bay Area’s: Travel, Economy, Climate, Housing, Equity, Culture, Health, Sustainability, and Accountability.

Bus agencies increase price of BART Plus Ticket

Beginning July 1, 2009, bus agencies will increase the price of the BART Plus ticket. Because of the economic downturn affecting the participating BART Plus transit partners, the bus portion of the BART Plus ticket will increase $5.00 per period. There is no change to the stored BART value of the BART Plus

Survey finds strong demand for BART mobile applications

A survey of BART riders who use mobile devices has found strong demand for new and existing applications and for expansion of wifi and cellphone coverage on BART. The survey was initiated by BART’s website team to evaluate the market for new mobile services. BART was one of the first public transit agencies

Take BART to Oakland Museum's celebration of activism

The Oakland Museum of California and Creative Time are sponsoring the reenactment of a landmark 1969 speech by activist Angela Davis. It's part of a project to examine American democracy by considering today's political situation in context to that of the 1960s and 70s. The stage will be set for the