Here are three Streetsblog news nuggets to start your weekend.
BART ridership keeps going up
Some unfortunate incidents notwithstanding, BART's modernization efforts are really paying off, with record post-pandemic ridership figures. From a BART release:
BART ridership saw steady growth this summer with August ridership up 10 percent compared to a year ago, a reflection of the ongoing success of BART’s efforts to enhance safety, cleanliness, and customer experience, including the new fare payment system Tap and Ride.
Tuesday, August 26, was BART’s third-highest ridership day since 2020 at the time, with 210,818 exits. This record was soon bested in the first two weeks of September, which experienced BART’s first and second highest ridership days since 2020 (219,918 exits on September 10 and 213,313 exits on September 9).
On August 20 BART launched direct/open payment, which means any customer with a credit or debit card can now pay their fare by tapping directly on the fare gates with either a physical card or a phone payment app. According to BART, direct payment accounted for 6.5 percent of total BART trips. Weekend usage of the new feature was higher than on weekdays as tourists and infrequent riders took advantage of it. And a full 24 percent of entries at SFO Station were paid directly.
Clipper BayPass ridership also more than doubled from the previous August as the all-in-one transit pass rolled out to the entire Cal student body. Click here for full ridership data.
Take transit to the 49ers game
If you're heading to Levi's Stadium this Sunday to watch the Niners beat the Arizona Cardinals, transit is the way to go. Caltrain has a page to help remind people how to take their electrified service to Mountain View, with a transfer to VTA's Orange Line light rail to get to the stadium. One can also connect to the Orange Line from BART at Milipitas.
In addition, the ACE commuter rail service from Stockton is offering special game-day trains (and season ticket discounts) for football fans. There's also Amtrak's Capitol Corridor from Sacramento. Both run directly to Great America/Levi's Stadium Station.
Want to bike there? The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will watch after your bike during the game.
And last but not least, 'Transit Month' smashes participation records
Seamless Bay Area checked in at the midpoint of the popular "Transit Month" event and campaign, designed to raise awareness and support for the Bay Area's transportation network. From a Seamless statement:
- This year's calendar has 86 past and upcoming events, *more than DOUBLING the size of Transit Month* in just two years! Thank you for all the hard work this year pulling events together and celebrating transit with us.
- More than a dozen news stories from NBC Bay Area, KQED, Oaklandside, SFist, and other media outlets so far! Seamless Bay Area and San Francisco Transit Riders continue to send out weekly press releases to help garner more media attention. We'd love to have your quotes and event photos included in upcoming media releases! Please feel free to share any quotes in this form that you want shared with the media and be sure to upload photos from your events in this folder.
- There are more than 900 users taking part in the Ride Contest, twice as many as last year.
There are more events planned this weekend. For a full list, click here. And be sure to check out the historic trolleys that will be plying Market Street as part of Heritage Weekend.
