BART

BART is hitting the runway this upcoming Transit Month to give a final send-off to our retired paper tickets that were a portal to our system for more than a 1 billion trips in the decades since BART’s inception. We gave fashion design students from four local schools thousands of old paper tickets with one condition: transform them into high fashion.  The students from Academy of Art University, Oakland School for the Arts, City College of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University will strut their stuff and share their unique designs for a full-blown fashion show, “Project Doneway: A Farewell to BART Paper Tickets,” in the parking lot at Rockridge Station on Saturday, September 14,th from 1pm to 3pm. 

What can BART learn from Swiss transit? BART's Manager of Strategic and Policy Planning Hannah Lindelof visited Switzerland to observe their integrated transit system in action. She's now back and has many lessons learned about how the Bay Area can put the rider first and make public transit the most appealing option for more people. Listen to our latest podcast:

BART wants to make getting to and from its stations safer and more accessible. We're launching Safe Trips to BART, a systemwide action plan to improve roadway safety. And we want your input. The goal of Safe Trips to BART is to identify investments that could reduce or eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries, such as transportation infrastructure improvements on roadways in and around BART station areas and BART service improvements that encourage more people to take transit instead of driving. Get Involved: Provide comments on the action plan, sign up for project email updates and learn more about Safe Trips to BART by visiting www.bart.gov/safetrips

The lifeblood of the region. A conduit for romance. A gateway to independence. BART means so many things to so many different people. Hear from them in their own words in our latest BART Connects video. Find all the BART Connects stories on bart.gov/bartconnects

Affordable housing near BART just got a huge boost! Today, three affordable housing projects in partnership with BART were approved for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) awards by the California Strategic Growth Council. BART will get over $14M and the housing developments will receive up to: -$35M for North Berkeley TOD on BART property -$25M for El Cerrito Plaza TOD on BART property -$25M for 699 Ygnacio Valley Rd near Walnut Creek Station These housing allocations are expected to help the BART TOD projects complete their subsidy plans and start construction within the next 1-2 years. The approved grants will directly invest in BART infrastructure benefiting many riders: -Traction power substation renovation at both Powell Station ($7M) and Daly City Station ($6M) -Lighting efficiency upgrades, new platform displays, new wayfinding signage, and license plate readers at Walnut Creek station ($1.25M) BART’s ongoing success w/ the AHSC program reflects our efforts to be a more proactive partner w/ the affordable housing community.

Wednesday was our 4th busiest ridership day since the pandemic started, thanks in part to a Back-to-School bump. It was also the first time this year that ridership topped 190,000 across the system! Take a look at the numbers: ~ Downtown Berkeley Station, near Berkeley City College and UC Berkeley, passed 12th Street/Oakland as the busiest East Bay station. Berkeley had 6,200 exits, which is about 1,000 additional exits compared to two weeks ago while school was still out. ~ Balboa Station, also near several schools, had 1,000 more exists than two weeks ago. ~ Embarcadero was our top ridership station yesterday at 21,000 exits. Montgomery was 2nd with 16,000 exits. Thanks for riding and cheers to the new school year 🍎

We had a FANTASTIC ridership weekend. The numbers show lots of people are taking BART on the weekend especially for fun! Let’s break it down… • Saturday saw the third 3rd highest ridership for a Saturday post-pandemic (114K exits). Sunday ranked 5th (89K exits)! • On Saturday and Sunday combined, Coliseum Station had 16K more exits compared to the weekend before during the Bay Bridge series. Perhaps people are not feeling compelled to pay for parking at the stadium these days… • On Sunday, Milpitas Station saw nearly 800 more exits compared to the previous Sunday thanks to the 49ers pre-season game. • This weekend (Sat/Sun), there were 28K more exits compared to the previous weekend, which was Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park. This shows the power of events within walking distance from BART! This upcoming weekend, get in on the BARTable fun and find something cool to eat, do, and see by BART at bart.gov/bartable.

Sherri Young is the Executive Director and Founder of the African-American Shakespeare Company. The African-American Shakespeare Company, a longtime BARTable partner. She says BART and her thirty-year-old company “help each other grow and succeed.” In September, the African-American Shakespeare Company celebrates 30 years of classical theater produced and performed by artists as diverse as their audiences. They perform at three theatres that are just a short walk from BART: the Herbst Theatre, the Taube Wilsey Atrium, and the Marines Memorial Theatre. Sherri and BART have a co-marketing agreement -- the two organizations promote each other with no exchange of money. “Small organizations like ours can’t afford to pay much into marketing,” Sherri said. She prefers those dollars go to people and program expenses. “BART helps us get the word out and make connections.” In turn, African-American Shakespeare Company “gives BART access to our community,” Sherri said. BART and arts organizations like Sherri’s company enrich and uplift one another. One gives people a place to go, the other gets people there. If patrons can’t find a way to the theater, the show won’t go on. "BART is going to be a lifelong partner of the company,” she added. Read more about Sherri and the African-American Shakespeare Company’s relationship with BART at https://lnkd.in/gj-3UKpd When the new season starts later this year, follow our rider guide to get to the shows!

BART Night at the Oakland Ballers was a big hit ⚾ Over 250 BART employees and family members were a part of the lively crowd at Raimondi Park cheering on the team. It was a memorable and fun-filled night highlighted by slick-fielding, several no-doubt home runs by the Ballers, and of course, the night’s special BART theme. BART General Manager Robert M. Powers, PE threw a strike from the mound for the game’s ceremonial first pitch, followed by BART Board Vice President Mark Foley rapping out a sharp infield first hit. BART Police posted the colors, and Lieutenant Joshua Perez sang a rousing and riff-filled National Anthem. And we can't forget to shout out the children of BART employees who kicked things off with a fierce “Play ball!” and served as Ball Kids and Bat Kids. A great time was had by all! Go Ballers!

Friday, August 9, was a thrilling and long-awaited day for the Western Railway Museum as the railroad history museum received the first of three decommissioned legacy BART cars for its forthcoming Rapid Transit History Center. As you can imagine, moving a 64,000-pound BART car is not something that can be accomplished with your average trailer hitch. It requires a flatbed truck with a yellow “OVERSIZE” banner as well as a crane for getting the car off the bed. Western Railway Museum staff found that out firsthand on August 9 when they showed up to the Hayward shops with a flatbed truck and helping hands. BART employees prepared for their visit by transferring the car – #1164 – from its holding track to the shop bay with a crane. When the truck arrived from Salazar Heavy Haul, BART staff hooked the car up to the crane and attempted to load it on the bed. There was an unforeseen problem: The undercar equipment was just a few inches too big for the truck bed, so BART staff had to improvise by removing the battery box and HVAC underneath it. Most decommissioned cars won’t have this problem as they’ll be picked up with the wheels and mounts removed. That wouldn’t do for Western Railway Museum, however. “They want everything on the cars so they are as authentic as possible,” explained Brian Tsukamoto, BART Manager of Special Projects – Decommissioning. “They’ll be coming back to pick up the battery box and HVAC.” Once the temporarily modified car was loaded and secured by the highly skilled driver, it was on its way from Hayward to Suisun City up north. A sign in its front window read: “I’m going to the Western Railway Museum.” Read more about car #1164's big move at https://lnkd.in/gHjbkUxB