BART ridership continues upward trend in November with double digit growth at most stations

BART ridership continued its steady upward trend in November, with double digit growth at most stations and overall ridership increasing 11.6% compared to the previous year.

In total, riders took more than 4.4 million trips in November, many taking advantage of new fare programs and innovations, such as Tap and Ride and Clipper BayPass.

'Tis the season to take BART to the airport. Ridership to SFO and OAK around Thanksgiving grew 12% over last year.

Riders are also increasingly using BART on the weekends. In November, Saturday ridership increased by 19% and Sunday ridership by 16% over last year. These gains come as ridership dipped modestly from October, a pattern consistent with seasonal shifts and variations in weekday and weekend travel.

Ridership growth reflects changing commuter trends, increased use of weekend and off-peak service, growing adoption of new fare programs, and an improved customer experience at BART. BART's Safe and Clean Plan is working - crime in the system is down 45% as of October. And on Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission released Next Generation Clipper, a new-and-improved fare payment system that makes paying for BART and other Clipper agencies faster and more convenient.

Many stations experienced robust increases in average weekday exits compared with last year this November. Some examples:

• Downtown Berkeley saw ridership rise nearly 20%
• 19th St/Oakland and 12th St/Oakland City Center ridership increased by more than 20%
• West Oakland and Embarcadero also posted notable gains of 24% and 17% respectively

Riders also continue to embrace flexible and discounted fare options:

• 11% of total trips in November used Tap and Ride, which lets you pay adult fares directly at the fare gates with a contactless debit or credit card or Apple Pay and Google Pay. BART became the first Tap and Ride agency in August; MTC rolled out the program to other Clipper agencies on December 10 with the launch of Next Generation Clipper.
• Clipper BayPass usage jumped 173% compared to the same month last year.
• Discount programs such as Clipper START also saw gains. Usage of the discount fare program increased by 37% compared to a year ago.

BART's budget crisis

Despite encouraging ridership gains, BART continues to face a $375 million budget deficit. To close that gap solely with fare revenue, current ridership would need to more than double. BART's most recent budget forecast projects a 4% ridership increase in 2026.

BART's gradual recovery is closely tied to work-from-home trends in the region. While more riders are returning to the system, they are generally taking fewer trips due to remote and hybrid work schedules.

Additional ridership information is publicly available and posted monthly at bart.gov/about/reports/ridership.