15 Oct BART Weekend Ridership Surges, but Agency Still Faces Financial Strain

(Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News Foundation)

By Bay City News

BART reports its ridership is continuing to climb, with strong weekend gains helping push the total trips in September past 5 million, nearly 10% higher than the same month last year, but the transit agency still faces financial strain.

In a statement Tuesday, BART said its Saturday ridership numbers jumped about 20% compared to September 2024, signaling that more riders are using the system for leisure and events rather than just commuting. The Japan vs. Mexico soccer match at the Oakland Coliseum on Sept. 6 brought roughly 23,000 trips to the station, the third-busiest day there since the COVID-19 pandemic and about one-third higher than the average Saturday ridership for A’s games in 2019.

BART said the highest ridership day in September was on Sept. 10, with 220,073 trips. The transit agency also noted surging use of new and discounted fare options: BayPass ridership more than doubled from last year, fueled largely by UC Berkeley students, while Clipper START — the region’s low-income fare program — reached a record 3.4% of total trips.

Tap and Ride, which lets passengers pay with contactless cards or mobile apps like Apple Pay, accounted for about 8% of weekday trips and 12% on weekends, with the San Francisco International Airport station making up nearly 30% of those.

Despite the steady growth, BART remains in a deep financial hole. The transit agency faces a $375 million deficit and said current ridership would need to more than double to close the gap using fare revenue alone.

BART officials said the recovery continues to track with the Bay Area’s work-from-home trends. Riders are returning, but many are taking fewer trips due to hybrid schedules.

According to BART officials, the latest budget projects a modest 4% ridership increase in 2026.

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