Archive for the ‘BART’ Category

Women’s History Month 2024: BART celebrates trailblazing women who shaped transit agency’s world

Saturday, March 2nd, 2024
Source: BART

From past to present, highlights three

By Bay Area Rapid Transit District

Friday, March 1, 2024, marked the beginning of Women’s History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the vital role women have played – and continue to play – in American history, including the history of public transportation, which has been shaped and transformed by women.  

BART is home to an amazingly diverse workforce with women serving in crucial roles across the agency, from trackworkers and train operators to executives and our Board of Directors, which is composed of a majority of women.  

From left to right: Tera Stokes-Hankins, Thu Nguyen, and Stephine Barnes. Source: BART

To spotlight just a few exceptional women in the BART family:  

Tera Stokes-Hankins is the first woman to serve as Chief Transportation Officer at BART. Tera started as a part-time station agent in 1995, nearly fresh out of college. Since her hiring, she has been promoted six times! Tera says she is motivated to work hard each and every day because “if BART’s not running, that means people can’t get to an interview or an appointment or class. To get up every day and make sure we’re ready to go and putting our best foot forward – that keeps me going.” Read more about Tera’s BART journey here.  

Thu Nguyen, a track operator, came to the Bay Area a few years ago with her daughter and just $300 in her pocket. She didn’t have housing or a job, but she eventually landed at Cypress Mandela Training Center, which offers free pre-apprenticeship program for Bay Area residents and helps connect them with employment opportunities, including at BART. Foreworker Jaime Ramirez said Nguyen is “no holds barred.” He added: “She’s not afraid of the work. She just goes for it.” Read more about Thu here.  

Stephine Barnes, a Crisis Intervention Specialist in BART’s Progressive Policing Bureau, recently won a Rider First Award in recognition of her work to move Bay Area transit forward. Stephine has worked for BART for more than two decades, and in her role as a CIS, she has changed the lives of many individuals. Her work has focused on reducing prison recidivism and advocating for those facing homelessness through intervention/prevention, de-escalation, case management, working with community partners, networking, and family reunification. Read more about Stephine here

BART is committed to recognizing, supporting, and uplifting all the passionate and hardworking women in the BART family by fostering a culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion – the themes of Women’s History Month 2024.

We thank every single one of the women at BART, who are working every day to make the system better for everyone.  

Happy Women’s History Month! 

Bay Area transit to take on a whole new look

Monday, January 29th, 2024
Source: MTC

Unified mapping and wayfinding features Golden Yellow, Sky Blue, Dark Blue

By John Goodwin & Gordon Hansen, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Bay Area transit’s ongoing transformation into a more connected, more efficient and more customer-focused mobility network today took another big step forward as transit agency and MTC staff at the January meeting of the Bay Area’s newly formed Regional Network Management Council unveiled design protoypes for a common set of signs to be used by all agencies at all locations — from individual bus stops to major hubs where multiple systems connect. These prototypes will be installed later this year at the El Cerrito del Norte BART station, the Santa Rosa Transit Mall and the nearby Santa Rosa SMART station. 

To establish and reinforce a common identity for all Bay Area transit services, the new signage employs a three-color palette of golden yellow, sky blue and dark blue; as well as simple icons to identify service by trains, buses or ferries. These icons are larger and more visually prominent than the logos of the individual agencies providing the services at each location. The modal icons and the three-color palette will be extended to a new mobile-friendly website to which passengers can connect via QR codes at each bus stop, train station or ferry terminal, providing real-time information along with accessibility features such as audio descriptions and language translation. 

“The Mapping and Wayfinding initiative is a brilliant example of regional cooperation,” said MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. “Putting customers’ interests first is the cornerstone of our Transit Transformation Action Plan to increase ridership by making transit faster, cleaner, more comfortable, more convenient and easier to navigate.” 

More than 90 percent of Bay Area residents polled by MTC in 2021 identified uniform and easy-to-use transit maps and signage as an important priority for improving the region’s transit network. MTC’s Operations Committee in 2022 approved a contract with Applied Wayfinding Inc. to develop a single mapping and wayfinding system for use by all Bay Area transit agencies. Applied has completed similar projects in London; Toronto; Seattle; Cleveland; Vancouver, B.C.; and elsewhere. The design concepts presented today incorporate comments and recommendations from more than 1,000 Bay Area residents — including transit riders and nonriders, people with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities — who participated in MTC-sponsored surveys, workshops and focus groups. New transit signage will include tactile and Braille elements.

The golden yellow in the three-color palette developed by transit agencies, MTC and the design contractor was chosen to represent the Bay Area’s sunshine and golden hills, with the light blue representing clear skies and the dark blue representing San Francisco Bay, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. MTC and its partners will invite Bay Area residents and visitors alike to share their thoughts about the newly designed transit signs and digital wayfinding tools once the prototypes — which have not yet been fabricated — are installed at the Santa Rosa and El Cerrito locations. 

Design prototypes for a consistent set of transit maps will be presented to the Regional Network Management Council later this year. The Council includes top executives from MTC, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, BART, AC Transit, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain, SamTrans and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District as well as three general managers representing all other transit agencies serving Bay Area communities. 

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

BART PD investigates Friday shooting of two at Pittsburg Center Station

Saturday, January 20th, 2024
Pittsburg Center Station. Photo: BART

By BART.gov

At 3:51 pm on Friday, January 19, 2024, BART Police received a call about a shooting that occurred on the platform of Pittsburg Center Station located at 2099 Railroad Avenue. The initial report was that a male suspect shot a male victim and fled the scene. The victim was taken to an area hospital and remains in critical condition.

A few hours later a second male victim who had also been shot showed up at an area hospital. The second victim remains in stable condition with a wound to his leg. BART PD is working to determine a motive for the shooting. At this point, investigators believe the shooting was not random.

The incident forced the shutdown of Pittsburg Center Station for approximately 4 1/2 hours so investigators could gather evidence. Investigators are also reviewing surveillance video captured by platform cameras at the station. The station was reopened and normal service restored.

Bikes now allowed on escalators at BART

Tuesday, January 9th, 2024
Screenshots source: BART

BART is going all in on bikes! As of January 1, 2024, bikes are allowed on most of the escalators throughout the BART system to help make it easier for people to bring their bikes on board the train. 

This change was approved by the BART Board of Directors at the request of Director Rebecca Saltzman. The vote authorizes further changes to BART’s bike rules, including allowing bikes on all train cars except the first car (bikes were previously banned from the first three cars during commute times), and allowing bicyclists to secure bikes on the train using the bike lean bar and straps, instead of holding them.  

The bike rules were last changed 10 years ago, when BART ended the ban on bikes on BART during commute hours. Over the last decade, longer and heavier bicycles, such as e-bikes and cargo bikes, have soared in popularity.

“Carrying bikes up and down stairwells can be difficult and not all bikes fit in our elevators,” said BART Director Rebecca Saltzman. “Updating our rules will make BART easier to use for cyclists and families bringing bikes on the train. Bikes play an important role in getting people out of their cars and on public transit and these updated rules encourage environmentally friendly multimodal travel options.”

BART encourages riders to use their best judgment when utilizing system escalators and elevators because individual bikes vary in size and weight. 

BART is releasing a new video detailing safety tips for bringing bikes on escalators in the BART system.

See updated Bikes on BART rules here:

*Bikes will remain banned from BART’s ten narrow escalators located at the following three stations: 19th Street Oakland, Antioch and Oakland Airport Connector

Bike + Transit Trips

BART’s Trip Planner offers multi-modal, end-to-end itineraries for bike + transit trips. It features customizable bike speed options including an option for e-bikes (select the settings/tool icon to customize your options). BART’s Trip Planner includes results for more than 30 transit systems in the Bay Area such as bus service, ferries, cable cars, and regional train systems.

BART’s Trip Planner is available on web, mobile, and the official BART app. The BART app also offers station information, including information on secured bike parking.

Elevator Dimension Guid

BART also offers this Elevator Dimension Guide to assist cyclists in navigating BART elevators. It outlines the dimensions of each elevator in the system including measurements of the door, width, length, and diagonal space across the floor. As always, use your best judgment when utilizing system elevators because individual bikes and elevators vary in size. 

New BART schedule with minor changes effective January 15

Saturday, January 6th, 2024

Get customized notifications with the BART app.

By Bay Area Rapid Transit District

Some departure times will shift by a few minutes, and we encourage riders to check the schedule before January 15th to see if their trip is impacted.

BART’s Trip Planner has been updated for trips beginning January 15, 2024, and PDF timetables are available here

The Official BART App offers customized in-app notifications about BART service and news.

Riders can personalize what type of information they get through the app based on when and where they ride BART and what information they care most about.

For example, you can select service advisories for your line and direction of travel and specific times of day. Or you can get real time departures pushed as notifications for the 15 minutes before arriving to a station on the days you ride.

To turn on these features, select the person icon in the upper-right, then select “Notification Settings” and starting adding what you want. This is a great option for people who don’t want to subscribe to text/email alerts or for people who remain on Twitter (X) only for BART Service Advisories.

We also made it easier to pay for parking with the new Tap-and-Go feature on the app that allows customers to pay for parking with just one tap. Check it out!

Investigation shows human error caused BART train derailment, fire

Thursday, January 4th, 2024
Two cars of the eastbound Antioch line BART train derailed Monday morning, Jan. 1, 2024. Photo by Allen D. Payton

Crossed over to opposite track; some riders self-evacuated

By BART

While the investigation of the January 1, 2024, derailment and fire just east of the Orinda Station continues, BART is providing an update on what occurred and next steps.

Condition of track equipment

That section of track where the derailment occurred, including the interlocking, was recently replaced and was in good operating order. BART’s train control system is being modernized as part of implementing Communications Based Train Control, a major rebuilding project underway.

Timeline of What Happened

At 8:45am on Monday, January 1, 2024, the computer system that monitors and manages BART tracks experienced a localized loss in communication with a field device specific to an area near Orinda Station, including the track interlocking located between Orinda and Lafayette stations. When this occurs, the Operations Control Center does not receive a status indication of route alignments in the area and track positions cannot be controlled remotely. The computer and communication system fails in a safe mode and there are procedures in place to continue to provide train service while crews troubleshoot the loss of computer communication. The system had been operating at the start of revenue service and one train had already travelled eastbound through the area. 

At 8:50am the Operations Control Center instructed the train operator of an approaching eight-car Antioch bound train to manually align the route at the interlocking. The route was to be straight through. The train operator left the cab to align the track route. PA announcements were made to riders on board about the delay. The train operator confirmed with the control center they had set the track for a straight through alignment. The control center instructed them to drive the train in manual mode through the area. 

Once moving, the train operator reported to the control center the train was crossing over to the opposite track, which was not the correct alignment. In response the control center held all trains in the area and instructed the train operator to move from the Antioch end of the train to the SFO end of the train and to move the train in the SFO direction to clear the interlocking area of the track and correctly align the route for straight through movement. The train operator walked to the other end of the train and moved it in manual mode in the SFO direction. Two cars derailed under slow speed causing electrical arcing, smoke, and flames. Some riders immediately started to self-evacuate by using the emergency door release.  

At 9:05am the train operator reported to the control center they believed the train had derailed. The train operator then began to sweep the train, walking through each car to tell people to evacuate. The operator reported the smoke and flames to the control center and advised that people had already started evacuating.

Orinda Police were first to arrive on scene and helped evacuate all riders safely and Orinda Fire Department extinguished the flames. 

By 9:23am, the control center was told all riders on board, estimated to be about 100-150 people, had been safely evacuated from the train.  

Next Steps

The investigation into the derailment continues. BART has 60 calendar days from the date of the incident to provide a report to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Until the CPUC accepts and closes the report, the incident is considered “under investigation”, until such time, the report is unavailable to the public.


1/2/24 4:45am Update: Normal Yellow line service will run today following overnight repairs and safety inspections. The headline for this story has been changed to reflect this update.

1/1/24 9:30pm Update:

The incident train is now moving towards the yard. Crews are working on repairs. We will be using our tamper vehicle to surface the track area, pounding down the rocks/ballast. The good news is there was no damage to track switches which would have required more extensive repairs.

The bus bridge will remain in effect through the end of service tonight. Crews will work to make repairs and inspect the tracks this evening and overnight. We hope for full normal service between Walnut Creek and Rockridge tomorrow.


7pm Update:

The crane has successfully re-railed both impacted cars. We will now couple the incident cars with others to tow them out of the way.  Track crews have already begun making repairs to damaged sections of the track so we are hopeful to have, at minimum, single tracking train service through the area for morning service. It could be full normal service depending on progress made.


4:40pm Update:

The crane arrived on scene. 

4pm Update:

The two lanes on Eastbound Highway 24 are now closed and crane is enroute for placement.

See remainder of timeline and more photos, here.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

BART train derails, catches fire near Orinda Station closes Antioch line on New Year’s Day

Monday, January 1st, 2024
A Bigge company crane prepares to remove the derailed BART car from the tracks east of the Orinda Station on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. Photos by Allen D. Payton

Nine people transported to medical facilities for evaluation; large crane needed closes two Hwy 24 eastbound lanes; line between Walnut Creek and Rockridge Stations may not reopen by Tuesday morning

By Allen D. Payton

A partial derailment of a BART train between the Orinda and Lafayette stations that occurred shortly after 9:00 AM on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, just outside the Orinda station, stopped service on the Antioch line between Rockridge and Walnut Creek stations. A bus bridge provided by AC Transit is in place providing full bus service between Rockridge and Walnut Creek in both directions. Buses will make all station stops. Yellow line riders should expect major delays all day. Trains are turning around Rockridge and Walnut Creek. No other BART lines are impacted.

BART has learned from first responders that nine people were transported to medical facilities for evaluation.

BART Director Deb Allen, who was on the scene, explained what happened.

“The actual cause has not been determined,” she said. “We have fiber optic cables that run under the right-of-way. There’s an interlocking that has to change directions when a train comes out of the Orinda Station. The operator made an announcement that OCC (Operations Control Center) told the operator he had to get out of the train and manually change the interlocking. He does that then gets back in the train and starts moving the train forward. It was fortunate that it was moving from a dead stop. After the interlocking the train switched to the wrong track which resulted in the partial derailment. What caused it is under investigation.”

5:15 PM Update: Two inside eastbound lanes of Hwy 24 east of Orinda are closed for the crane to remove the derailed 65,000 lb. BART car.

4:40 PM Update: BART spokesman Jim Allison held a press conference in the Orinda Station parking lot providing an update to the progress on the train fire and partial derailment. As he was speaking, a Bigge company crane arrived to move the derailed BART car. The operation should take about six hours, Allison said. But he couldn’t say if there will be BART service on the Antioch line in either direction between Walnut Creek and Rockridge Stations Tuesday morning. If not, hopefully bus service will continue. 

In response to a reporter’s question, Allison said there had been upgrades to the interlocking. BART made major trackway repairs on the Yellow Line, which is the busiest in the BART system. Over Presidents Day weekend, February 18-20, 2023, BART crews worked around the clock to replace 7,350 feet of worn rail between the Rockridge and Lafayette stations.


From BART – Rolling Updates Based on Information we have:

3:15pm Update: BART is currently working with Caltrans to close two lanes of Eastbound Highway 24 within in the next hour for a large crane that will position the incident BART train back in place. We do not have an ETA on how long it will take but will provide frequent updates on the process.

2pm Update: The derailment occurred at an interlocking located between the Orinda and Lafayette BART stations shortly after 9am. Just prior to the derailment, the train operator was instructed by the Operations Control Center to manually align the route at the interlocking because a signaling issue prevented the computer from doing it. This procedure is not uncommon and train operators are trained to manually align routes. The operator then manually moved the train when it derailed. The train was not under automatic train control. The details into what happened are under investigation.

A large crane will be needed to get the incident train back in place on the tracks. This crane will be positioned on Highway 24 eastbound. Two highway lanes will be closed for this. The train will then be moved to a yard and track inspections and any repairs will need to take place.

The California Public Utilities Commission was notified and their staff were on scene.


12:30pm Update (Bus Bridge Available): A bus bridge provided by AC Transit is now in place providing full bus service between Rockridge and Walnut Creek in both directions. Buses will make all station stops. 


Noon update (injury update and correction): Nine people were transported to medical facilities for evaluation following this incident. Based on the initial report from first responders there were no major injuries. BART Police will be interviewing all people who were transported for evaluation. A correction has been made below.


11:15am update: BART has powered off the rails between Rockridge and Walnut Creek stations. All passengers that were on board trains in that section of track have been off-boarded. BART is working with partner bus agencies to establish a bus bridge but it is not yet in place. 

Only the Yellow line (between Walnut Creek and Rockridge is impacted). All other lines are running. 

The Official BART App offers customized in-app notifications about BART service and announcements using the official BART app. Riders can personalize what type of information they get through the app based on when and where they ride BART and what information they care most about.


10:15am Update: Shortly after 9am on Monday, January 1, 2024, an east bound Yellow line train partially derailed between Orinda and Lafayette stations just outside the Orinda station.

Passengers were safely evacuated from the train and were escorted to Orinda Station by BART personnel. Nine people were transported to medical facilities for evaluation*. Based on the initial reports from first responders there were no major injuries. BART Police will interview all people who were transported for evaluation to get an update. 

Two cars were reported to be on fire with smoke and the Orinda Fire Department responded and extinguished the flames.

The Orinda and Lafayette BART stations were closed and we are advising Yellow line riders to seek alternative transportation at this time. There is no train service between Rockridge and Walnut Creek. There is currently no available bus bridge but staff is working to see if partner bus agencies are available. 

BART has extra staff and BART Police at Orinda and Lafayette stations to help. 

Other BART lines are not impacted.


9:28am Service Advisory posted: There is a major delay on the Antioch Line in the Antioch and SFO directions due to an equipment problem on a train between Orinda and Lafayette stations. Please seek alternate means of transportation.

9:21am Service Advisory posted: There is a major delay on the Antioch Line in the Antioch and SFO directions due to an equipment problem on a train.


*An earlier update said there were no reported injuries, however BART has learned from first responders that nine people were transported to medical facilities for evaluation. 

BART Advisories are available via SMS text, email, at the top of bart.gov, on the BART app, and on X (Twitter) at @SFBARTalert, the main @SFBART account is also providing updates.

Check back later for any updates to this report.

BART’s Top 23 Accomplishments of 2023

Saturday, December 30th, 2023
Photos: BART

By BART Communications

2023 has been a big year for BART as we laid the critical groundwork toward a new vision and a better future. It’s a future that features a cleaner, safer, easier-to-use BART that prioritizes all riders – and it’s right around the corner. 

Here are 23 things BART is proud of this year. 

Walnut Creek BART Station. Photo source: BART. Copyright Noah Berger / 2023

We understood travel patterns were changing…so we changed with them. 

1. BART listened to riders clamoring for more comprehensive service outside 9-to-5 work hours. We increased service during nights and weekends, where ridership is growing fastest. From weekend sporting events to evening concerts, BART is dedicated to being the safest, fastest, most reliable way to get where you need to go for fun.  

Walnut Creek BART Station. Photo source: BART. Copyright Noah Berger / 2023

We made historic updates to modernize our system.

 2. We are now running exclusively new trains as part of the base schedule.  

3. We migrated to 100% digital payments, eliminating paper ticket waste, and paving the way for our new state-of-the-art fare gates that will bolster ridership, revenue, and rider safety in 2024. 

4. We rolled out the first gates to the public at West Oakland Station this week, ending the year with yet another upgrade to BART’s public safety infrastructure. 

We doubled down on safety and cleaning. 

5. We released our Safe & Clean Plan to show the progress we have made in making our system cleaner, safer, and more reliable.  

6. Customer on-time performance is at 92%.

7. We doubled the police presence in the system, and we won awards for using unarmed Ambassadors and Crisis Intervention Specialists to increase staff presence in our system and help people in need. 

8. We discontinued the disruptive fare inspections during the morning commute at Embarcadero Station and re-deployed the fare inspectors to ride trains and inspect Clipper cards at more stations. 

9. We started running shorter trains to enhance safety because data shows without a doubt that active spaces are safer spaces. 

10. We launched our “Let’s Talk About Us” campaign about domestic violence and Phase II of our Not One More Girl initiative addressing sexual harassment. We believe using art to change a culture of violence and building community partnerships to make BART safer is important. 

11. We doubled the rate of deep cleaning train cars, and we increased the pressure washing of stations.

We made stations more welcoming. 

12. We made it easier to pay for parking with the new Tap-and-Go feature on the Official BART Mobile App that allows customers to pay for parking with just one tap. 

13. We reopened newly remodeled all-gender restrooms at Embarcadero and Downtown Berkeley stations. We now have six open underground restrooms. 345,000 people used these attended, clean, and safe restrooms in 2023. 

14. We deployed a comprehensive strategy to clean up Civic Center, resulting in a dramatically improved station experience from previous years.   

15. We now have ten brand-new escalators in downtown San Francisco and six new canopies along Market Street.

16. We’re increasing the discount for low-income riders from 20% to 50% with the Clipper START program beginning January 1, 2024.  

We advanced our efforts to build housing on our property. 

17. BART was proud to celebrate the openings of three transit-oriented development projects – Gateway at Millbrae Station, Waymark at Walnut Creek, and Kapuso Upper Yard at Balboa Park, creating over 1,100 new homes, including over 200 new affordable homes.  

18. We advanced two additional projects by signing lease options with our selected developers at West Oakland and Phase I at Lake Merritt. These will bring nearly 1,200 new homes, including more than 400 affordable homes for riders who need them most. 

We focused on responsible long-term planning to secure a thriving BART today and long into the future. 

19. We delivered a balanced budget during the most difficult financial time in the history of American public transit. The Grants team secured nearly $400 million of funds in 2023 to help pay for improvements and reinvestment within the BART system. 

20. We welcomed our new Inspector General and nearly tripled the office’s budget so it can expand and perform even more audits and investigations to identify waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure we are maximizing our efficiency.  

21. And most impactful of all, we successfully advocated to get financial assistance from the state budget that immediately averted an impending fiscal cliff. BART stands to receive 45% of the region’s allocation and we will continue to build the case for long overdue investment.   

Source: BART

We got to know our riders and celebrated transit with our biggest fans. 

22. From our book club to new anime mascots, we activated our stations and trains with fun events to welcome people back to BART.  

We also haven’t lost sight of the future. 

23. The Link21 program was awarded $11.3 million in project development funds from the state, reaffirming the critical role of our efforts to build a second train crossing between Oakland and San Francisco in helping the State achieve their State Rail Plan vision for Northern California. Link21 launched its first 18-member, community-based Equity Advisory Council to advise program on priority population concerns, including anti-displacement, connectivity, access, and service needs.

BART remains the best and the safest way to travel the Bay Area.  

We are proud of what we accomplished in 2023 – from investments in public safety, modernizing our trains and schedules, improving infrastructure, increasing equity, and working toward a secure fiscal future. But we know there’s always more to be done. We can’t wait to show riders what’s in store in 2024 and beyond as we continue driving our vision for the future of Bay Area public transit.