BART is appealing to riders to weigh-in via a survey on fare increases in 2024 and 2025 that it says will help it continue to provide “safe and reliable service.” The agency is also considering offering low-income Clipper START customers an increased discount of 50 percent—which is up from 20 percent, on Jan. 1, 2024. Customers can find the online survey here. BART began implementing its Board-Approved Inflation-Based Fare Increase Program in 2004, which institutes below-inflation, small fair adjustments intermittently over time. Amid “recent rapid inflation,” BART said the program’s formula “calls for a single 11.4 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2024.” The agency is looking to sidestep that larger, at-once increase by spreading it out over two smaller increases “of up to 5.5 percent each in 2024 and 2025.” The agency last increased fares by 3.4 percent on July 1, 2022. According to BART, it is also examining the possibility of offering larger discounts for Clipper START program riders, which is for adults with a household income that’s 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. Again, the discount would increase from 20 percent per trip to 50 percent per trip. “Money from the fare increases will go towards our operating and capital budgets, funding train service, enhanced cleaning, additional police and unarmed safety staff presence and capital projects such as purchasing new train cars,” said BART. Again, find the survey about BART’s scheduled fare increases through March 26 here. Those responding can enter to win a $50 Clipper card.

BART to extend service hours for Halloween, Outside Lands music festival

in Community

BART will offer special hourly service throughout the system after 9 p.m. Sunday to accommodate riders returning home from Halloween festivities and the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco.

“We will operate one transbay 10 car train an hour which will be timed to meet up with two other trains across the system to serve 48 out of our 50 stations,” the transit agency said. “Trains will not serve the airport stations (OAK and SFO) but will stop at all other stations.”

See the Halloween extended service map below, along with PDFs of the schedule:

Antioch to Millbrae (Yellow)
Millbrae to Antioch (Yellow)
Berryessa to Richmond (Orange)
Richmond to Berryessa (Orange)
Bay Fair to Dublin (Blue) shuttle 
Dublin to Bay Fair (Blue) shuttle

The special service will be carried out by train operators who voluntarily agree to work an overtime shift. The extended service is subject to their availability, according to BART. For more information, click here.