News & Events

On Friday, August 15, BART will begin the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates on the concourse level of Milpitas Station. The installation work will happen in stages so riders can continue to use the remaining gates while new ones are being installed. There will be additional BART staff as well as signage to direct riders to the open gates. There will also be a service gate available for those riders who would typically use an accessibility gate. The installation of each new set of gates is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. 

A temporary barrier will be installed around each array when it is ready to be removed to provide a safe workspace for the installation team as well as to protect riders from construction. The work will not delay 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 44 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 Gates project here.

On Friday, August 8, BART will begin the installation of Next Generation Fare Gates on the concourse level of Balboa Park Station. The installation work will happen in stages so riders can continue to use the remaining gates while new ones are being installed. There will be additional BART staff as well as signage to direct riders to the open gates. There will also be a service gate available for those riders who would typically use an accessibility gate. The installation of each new set of gates is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. 

A temporary barrier will be installed around each array when it is ready to be removed to provide a safe workspace for the installation team as well as to protect riders from construction. The work will not delay 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 44 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 Gates project here.

BART’s efforts to enhance safety, cleanliness, and the customer experience are paying off as June 2025 saw a 13.4% increase in ridership over a year ago, bolstered by steadily growing weekend ridership.

Saturdays have seen some of the highest rates of ridership growth as people increasingly use the system to travel to events and activities on the weekends, including families and those who are now choosing to take transit over driving. Saturday ridership increased by 15.2% from May to June and was up 24.6% compared to a year ago. These increases were boosted thanks to local events, such as the June 14 “No Kings Day” protests, which marked the second highest day for Saturday ridership since the pandemic. June 29, the day of the San Francisco Pride Parade, saw the second highest Sunday for ridership since 2020. 

Additional ridership information is publicly available here.

While ridership continues to recover from post-pandemic declines due to remote work, these numbers demonstrate the effectiveness of BART’s Safe and Clean Plan, a series of strategic initiatives and investments that have doubled the rate of deep cleaning and resulted in a surge in BART PD’s visible safety presence on trains and in stations.  

These improvements are happening in concurrence with customer experience improvements, including running only new Fleet of the Future trains and system hardening efforts, led by the ongoing installation of its Next Generation Fare Gates. 

BART has also been strategically promoting non-work trips by partnering with local sports teams and organizations; sharing Rider Guides and social media videos describing how to take transit to events; and promoting non-work trips through efforts such as the BARTable website and newsletter. BART’s Fun Stuff program is an engagement effort that aims to educate riders, help us connect with the communities we serve, and build brand affinity, especially with younger riders. Our programs are getting people excited about transit and emphasizing the many places our system can take them.

Several key indicators BART uses to measure success are showing significant progress in efforts to showcase a new and improved BART experience.  New data shows ridership growth and improvements to safety, cleanliness, satisfaction, and reducing fare evasion.

Strong Saturday ridership 

Total ridership grew 6.4% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 over the same quarter last year. Weekday ridership increased nearly 7% over the same quarter last year, while weekends had even bigger gains as more families are taking BART to events. The average Saturday had a 14% ridership increase and the average Sunday ridership grew by more than 8% compared to the same quarter last year. The Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) also showed customer satisfaction is at 84%, train cleanliness improved by 58% year over year, and station cleanliness improved 52% year over year.​

These gains come as BART has focused all available resources on implementing its Safe and Clean Plan. The comprehensive approach to transforming the rider experience includes a surge in BART PD’s visible safety presence on trains and in stations as well as doubling the rate of deep cleanings for trains. Another huge improvement for the rider experience is running only new Fleet of the Future trains.

Safety staff presence brings order in the system

In the latest QPR, overall robberies decreased from 42 in the previous quarter to 21 while electronic theft decreased from 43 in the previous quarter to 21. Crimes against persons decreased from 9.56 last quarter to 6.22 crimes per one million trips in the third quarter of this year.​ These gains come as police-related customer service complaints dropped by 63% year over year, showing an improved perception of safety from riders.

“The BART Police Department is seeing firsthand the transformation that is taking place at BART thanks to the dedication of our sworn officers, ambassadors, fare inspectors, crisis intervention specialists, and community service officers,” said Kevin Franklin, BART’s Chief of Police. “Riding BART today is nothing like what it was during the pandemic. Our new deployment strategies and proactive enforcement is providing a more welcoming experience for families in our stations and trains.”  

BART's efforts to harden the system, led by the installation of its Next Generation Fare Gates, are being recognized as the number of riders who say they’ve witnessed fare evasion has reached a new low for the past five quarters, going from 24% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 to 15% in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2025. The stronger gates feature a state-of-the-art locking mechanism as well as sensors that improve access for riders in wheelchairs as well as those using strollers or carrying luggage. The new gates have been installed in 40 stations so far and will be in place in all 50 BART stations by the end of this year.

Key rider safety reports via the BART Watch app are also declining

Riders are reporting fewer safety concerns and issues related to Code of Conduct violations and people needing welfare checks through the BART Watch App. 

The number of Code of Conduct related reports sent by riders decreased this latest quarter to 2,398 reports, compared to 3166 during the same quarter last year. Requests for welfare checks also decreased to 680 requests, compared to 763 for the same quarter last year- meaning there are fewer people who look like they can't care for themselves. BART recently placed 400 posters in its train cars targeting unwanted activities such as smoking, harassment, and unruly behavior. These posters reinforce BART PD’s commitment to enforcing the Code of Conduct and providing a welcoming environment for all riders.

BART has eliminated what was projected to be a $35 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year through various cuts and strict cost control efficiencies. The upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 Preliminary Budget Memo, to be released at the end of the month, will now show a balanced budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, but structural deficits of $350 million to $400 million loom in following years unless long term, stable funding sources can be identified.

“We’re getting our budget in order to the extent that we can,” said BART Board President Mark Foley. “Closing a $35 million gap is no easy task. Now that we’ve overcome the first hurdle, we’ll focus on the bigger picture of restructuring BART’s funding model for long term sustainability.”

BART was able to close the projected $35 million dollar deficit through a combination of cost controls and revenue generation. Examples include:

Cost Controls

• A strategic hiring freeze while protecting safety and service quality
• Labor savings from reducing near term retiree healthcare costs
• Non-labor budget reductions across all departments
• Running shorter trains
• Locked-in low renewable electricity rates
• Implementation of Inspector General’s recommendations for efficiencies

Revenue Generation

• Installation of Next Generation Fare Gates to reduce fare evasion and increase ridership
• Maintaining inflation-based fare increases
• Offering new fare products like Clipper BayPass which is now revenue positive
• Improving transit coordination
• Growing ridership through station activations and events
• Negotiating new agreements for telecommunications revenues

Total operating expense growth in the FY26 budget is only 1% compared to inflation in the Bay Area at 2.7% over the past year and the size of workforce has been reduced from the current year due to the strategic hiring freeze. In fact, even before the recent cost cutting, BART has been able to keep its operating costs below the rate of inflation since 2019.

While BART is prioritizing high-quality and frequent service to attract more riders, overall, BART is running 100 fewer trains per week than before the pandemic. 

BART is one of the most cost-efficient rail operators in the nation despite operating in a very high-cost region. By one measure, the cost per vehicle revenue hour, BART is significantly more efficient than similar systems like Washington, D.C.’s WMATA and Atlanta’s MARTA (Vehicle rail hour rates: BART - $283, MARTA $370, WMATA $466). 

BART cannot close structural deficits with service cuts

As ridership continues to slowly grow, BART’s historical reliance on passenger fares to pay for operations, long seen as very effective, is outdated and no longer sustainable. New sources of funding are needed to avoid significant service cuts.

Even with belt-tightening, BART can’t cut its way out of the crisis without causing a transit death spiral. That is because rail has high fixed costs to maintain infrastructure and low marginal costs driven by changes in service. For example, when BART closed at 9pm and reduced frequencies during the height of the pandemic, it represented a 40% cut in service, but it only reduced operating costs by 12%. Even a 90% cut in service (9pm closure, one-hour frequencies, and running only three of the five BART lines) would close less than half of the FY27 $376 million deficit.  

Next steps for the BART budget

The soon-to-be-released 2026 Preliminary Budget Memo will mark the beginning of the final stretch of BART’s budget activity for the year. A series of presentations at Board meetings will culminate in a Board of Directors vote in June to adopt a two-year budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

BART’s customer satisfaction rate has hit its highest mark in ten years and surged six percentage points in two years according to the latest comprehensive biannual survey of BART riders.

The 2024 BART Customer Satisfaction Survey found that 73 percent of respondents are “very or somewhat satisfied with BART” compared to 67 percent of those questioned in 2022, the last time BART conducted the survey.  

In addition to general questions, respondents were also asked to rate 24 service attributes on a scale of one to seven. Ratings for 17 of the 24 metrics improved in 2024. Cleanliness of trains and stations, on-time performance, presence of BART police, personal security, enforcement against fare evasion, and addressing homelessness all showed improvement.  

“These results confirm our Safe and Clean Plan is transforming the BART experience and making our system cleaner and safer,” said BART Board President Mark Foley. “We recognize there is still room for improvement; however, our focus on enhancing the customer experience is yielding positive results. It’s encouraging to see the survey responses that echo what I’m hearing from riders as I travel through the system.”  

Some other findings:

• 80 percent of those surveyed said they would recommend BART to a friend or out-of-town guest, up four percentage points from 2022.
• 67 percent agree that BART is a good value for the money, up three percentage points.
• The average rating for train interior cleanliness increased by a whopping 14 percent.
• The average rating for station cleanliness increased by eight percent.

Only the availability of space on trains for luggage, bicycles and strollers and availability of seats on trains declined, unsurprising given the increase in overall ridership since 2022 and BART’s move to run shorter trains to enhance safety and save on energy costs.

BART has surveyed its riders every two years since 1996. More than 4,600 questionnaires in English, Spanish and Chinese were distributed onboard a representative sample of train runs last autumn.  

The survey results were presented to the BART Board of Directors at its annual Board Workshop, Thursday, February 27, 2025. View the full presentation here.  

BART also asks about customer satisfaction in its ongoing Passenger Environment Survey. That survey is about a rider’s specific trip. The latest customer satisfaction rate from that survey is 83%.  

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin announced at the North Berkeley BART Station that BART has been awarded $25 million from the Cycle 7 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for the North Berkeley Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Mobility Enhancements Project. 

“This funding makes possible two plazas plus bike and pedestrian improvements, which will help transform the North Berkeley BART station area into a mixed-use, sustainable community,” says BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman, who represents the station. “By enhancing access to public transit and improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure, projects like this will reduce dependency on personal vehicles.” 

Key project components include BART rider parking within a TOD garage, publicly accessible open spaces including an intermodal transit plaza, and walking and biking enhancements around the station. The TOD will transform the main North Berkeley Station parking lot into housing and open space. The TIRCP funds are critical to supporting investments that enhance access to BART for current and future BART riders.  

TIRCP funds will be used to enhance walking and biking infrastructure and augment multimodal connections. These enhancements are expected to boost ridership by facilitating safe pedestrian and bike access and promoting non-automotive transportation. The estimated total cost for the Mobility Enhancements Project is $37 million. Remaining funding sources are from local and state contributions.

The overall North Berkeley Station TOD project prioritizes affordable housing, aligns with BART’s TOD Policy goals and meets the strategic objectives of the TIRCP program.  The project will consist of five residential buildings that will be built in phases. 

BART estimates that the 739 new homes in the TOD, with approximately half affordable for households at or below 80% of Area Median Income, would generate roughly 750 new trips per day by 2031.