BART Connects: Meet the real riders whose lives have been changed by BART

Tens of millions of people ride BART every year -- to work, dates, practice, friends, and fun. BART Connects tells their stories.

Today, June 22, BART Communications is launching the second edition of BART Connects, a storytelling series that features real BART riders who span generations, neighborhoods, and walks of life. You can read their stories now at bart.gov/bartconnects.

In the coming months, the stars of BART Connects will take us for a ride in a series of video featurettes that will be regularly posted on BART social media. Below, watch the first video, featuring Grammy-winning musician Fantastic Negrito.

You will also see the faces of BART Connects riders in advertising spaces in the BART System and across the region.

BART Connects grew out of a call for rider stories BART Communications launched in 2023 to learn how our transit system impacts people's lives. The initial response made clear that BART means something to those who ride it.

Have a cool BART story to share? Submit a short summary at bart.gov/story. You may be the next BART Connects feature!

"BART connects me to the first audience I ever had."

- FANTASTIC NEGRITO -

BART TROUBADOUR

"BART connected me to my dream."

- NATASHA OON -

BART GOLFER

"The Bay is my siren. It pulls me in towards murky waters of Lake Merritt and tells me I am a spring."

- SEHINNE YOHANNES -

BART POET

"Seniors like me who have given up driving need BART."

- NAOMI "NONA" HULME -

LIFELONG RIDER

"BART is the cornerstone of what makes my life in the Bay Area unique."

- TOMMY JUNG -

BART FISHERMAN

"Knowing how to ride public transit is a big step in growing up."

- ENZO WU & APARDEEP SINGH -

TEEN TRANSIT CHAMPIONS

"BART girl math: I can maximize sleep by doing my makeup on the train and still sneak in a nap each way."

- MARIAH -

BART INFLUENCER

"BART is integral to the long-term success of Bay Area downtowns."

- ISAAC ABID -

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPER