110-630: UTC Transit Center is a San Diego Trolley station and transportation hub in the University City district of San Diego, California . It is located at Westfield UTC mall. The station's elevated trolley platform is served by the Blue Line , and stands above Genesee Avenue at its intersection with Esplanade Court. Its at-grade bus plaza is built into the lower level of one of the mall's parking structures that includes 333 spaces that can be used by transit customers who pay an hourly fee. Bus service began at
220-664: A Golden State Warriors game. That easily surpassed the previous Saturday record of 319,484 riders, which occurred in October 2012, coinciding with several sporting events and Fleet Week . BART set a Sunday ridership record of 292,957 riders in June 2013, in connection with the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade , surpassing Sunday records set the previous two years when the Pride Parade was held. Ridership dropped sharply during
330-463: A "downtown loop" heritage streetcar line ( Silver ) that operates on holidays. There is one downtown station where all the lines connect, and 13 other stations that provide transfers to a second line (two of these also provide connections to commuter rail systems). The trolley began service on July 26, 1981, making it the oldest of the second-generation light rail systems in the United States, and
440-904: A $ 7 million contract (equivalent to $ 39 million in 2023). It was the third system in the US to use encoded-value magnetic stripe tickets, following the Illinois Central Gulf commuter line in 1964 and the PATCO Speedline in 1968. Although tickets could be refilled at fare machines, riders often discarded tickets with small values remaining. BART formerly relied on unused ticket values on such discarded cards for additional revenue – as much as $ 9.9 million annually in 1999 (equivalent to $ 17 million in 2023). Tickets stopped being sold in December 2020 in favor of Clipper cards, and can no longer be used. A 50-cent surcharge per trip (25 cents for discounted fares)
550-470: A 62.5% discount is provided to seniors and the disabled. The Clipper START program for low-income adults provides a 50% discount. The San Francisco Muni and BART offer a combined monthly "A" Fast Pass, which allows unlimited rides on Muni services plus BART service within San Francisco. In August 2022, BART launched Clipper BayPass, a two-year pilot program to examine the viability of a transit pass that
660-408: A 9-mile (14 km) spur line running to Antioch , and Oakland Airport Connector , a 3-mile (4.8 km) automated guideway transit line serving San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport . With an average of 169,800 weekday passenger trips as of the third quarter of 2024 and 48,119,400 annual passenger trips in 2023, BART is the sixth-busiest rapid transit system in the United States . BART
770-553: A feasibility study for installing a second transbay crossing would commence the following year. By 2019, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) had joined with BART to study a multi-modal crossing, which could also allow Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins routes to serve San Francisco directly. In 2007, BART stated its intention to improve non-peak (night and weekend) headways for each line to 15 minutes. The 20-minute headways at these times
880-474: A fifth line to the system for the first time in BART's history. The system was expanded to San Francisco International Airport in 2003 and to Oakland International Airport (now San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport) via an automated guideway transit spur line in 2014. eBART , an extension using diesel multiple units along conventional railroad infrastructure between Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch on
990-543: A guideway transit system. The entire process was assigned to MTDB to assure accountability. The legislation was written and supported by State Senator James R. Mills , the President Pro Tem during this period and a strong transit advocate. The MTDB formally started operations on January 1, 1976. The MTDB's enabling legislation and principles adopted by the Board required the planning give added weight to systems that satisfy
1100-608: A line that traveled between downtown San Diego, San Ysidro, northern Baja California (in Mexico), and Imperial County before connecting with the rest of the SP system in Plaster City, California . The hurricane caused $ 1.3 million worth of damage to the line ($ 6.96 million adjusted for inflation), primarily in Imperial County, east of San Diego. Freight service was suspended, and in light of
1210-523: A month later. Despite the fact that Marin had originally voted in favor of BART participation at the 88% level, its marginal tax base could not adequately absorb its share of BART's projected cost. Another important factor in Marin's withdrawal was an engineering controversy over the feasibility of running trains on the lower deck of the Golden Gate Bridge , an extension forecast as late as three decades after
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#17328590385341320-406: A nationwide decline in mass transit ridership in the second half of the decade. The Washington Post and LA Streetsblog attributed the national decline in ridership to changes in commute patterns, the fall in gasoline prices since 2014, and competition from the private sector in the form of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. Ride-hailing has especially affected ridership on the lines to
1430-518: A new signalling system that would allow two freight trains to operate at night, rather than one. To enable the switch to a low-floor light rail vehicle (LRV) fleet, platforms at 35 stations would need to be raised from either ground level or sidewalk level (4-inch (102 mm)) to 6-inch (152 mm). Stations also needed a new "safety edge tile" with a smooth surface in the center to allow wheelchair ramps to deploy (the existing safety tile would stop ramps from fully deploying). The other complication of
1540-453: A number of criteria: priority consideration for technologies available and in use, a system that is capable of being brought into operation incrementally, and using rights-of-way owned by public entities to minimize construction costs. In December 1976, the MTDB launched its 18-month Guideway Planning Project to be held in two phases. Phase 1 involved the evaluation of potential corridors based on
1650-672: A number of major engineering challenges, including excavating subway tunnels in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley; constructing aerial structures throughout the Bay Area, particularly in Alameda and Contra Costa counties; tunneling through the Berkeley Hills on the Concord line; and lowering the system's centerpiece, the Transbay Tube connecting Oakland and San Francisco, into a trench dredged onto
1760-411: A paper-plastic composite with a magnetic stripe . The tickets were sold by fare vending machines. When exiting, fare gates read the magnetically stored value on the card, encoded the new value with the fare subtracted, and printed the new value on the card. Tickets with no remaining value were retained by the machine rather than being returned. The entire fare system was designed and built by IBM under
1870-723: A second line on March 23, 1986, that shared the same downtown tracks and traveled east to Euclid Avenue on the La Mesa Branch of the SD&;AE. The new route was then called the Euclid Line (part of today's Orange Line ). This line was extended to El Cajon by June 23, 1989, at which time it was renamed the East Line. Service was expanded beyond the old SD&AE right-of-way when the line was extended further, north, to Santee on August 26, 1995. The East Line's Bayside Connection extension to
1980-527: A week. Limited service on particular segments is provided before 5 am and after 11:30 pm. There is no rail service between 2 am and 4 am. During these hours when there is no passenger service, freight trains of the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad operate on the trolley's right of way. Generally, trains operate every 15 minutes, seven days a week, with less frequent service during early morning and late evening hours. Additional service on
2090-617: Is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California , United States. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. ( reporting mark SDTI ), is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical component of MTS, with connections to and integrated travel tickets with the local bus systems. The trolley system serves 62 stations , over about 67.9 miles (109.3 km) of route, using four primary lines ( Blue , Green , Orange , and Copper ) that operate daily, and
2200-618: Is a barrier to ridership. In mid-2007, BART temporarily reversed its position, stating that the shortened wait times would likely not happen due to a $ 900,000 state revenue budget shortfall. Nevertheless, BART eventually confirmed the implementation of the plan by January 2008. Continued budgetary problems halted the expanded non-peak service and returned off-peak headways to 20 minutes in 2009. In 2008, BART announced that it would install solar panels at two yards, maintenance facilities, and Orinda station (the only station that receives sufficient sunlight to justify installation cost). In 2012,
2310-454: Is applied to all journeys made on paper tickets. However, due to supply chain shortages resulting in a lack of plastic Clipper cards, BART started issuing tickets again at the SFO station in October 2022. Sales of paper tickets again ended on September 30, 2023, and they were no longer usable after November 30. BART first piloted a smart card for fare payment called EZ Rider in 2006; this program
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#17328590385342420-531: Is at 41% of pre-pandemic levels, Saturday ridership is at 63%, and Sunday ridership is at 75%. In a 2022 survey, 31% of riders report household income below $ 50,000 (up from 26% in 2018), and 44% did not own a vehicle (up from 31% in 2018). Compared to the region, BART riders are more likely to be Black or Latino, and less likely to be White or Asian. The entirety of the system runs in exclusive, grade-separated right-of-way. BART's rapid transit revenue routes cover about 131 miles (211 km) with 50 stations. On
2530-621: Is compatible with all the public transit agencies in the Bay Area. The program was initially made available to around 50,000 college students and affordable housing residents. The primary fare media for BART is the Clipper card , which is used by most Bay Area transit agencies. Clipper is a contactless smart card ; passengers tap in and out at card readers on fare gates. Clipper cards in Apple Pay and Google Wallet electronic wallets can also be used. BART's original fare system used tickets made of
2640-616: Is located one block from Embarcadero and Montgomery stations. Several transit agencies offer limited commuter-oriented bus service from more distant cities to outlying BART stations; these include VINE from Napa County, Solano Express from Solano County, Rio Vista Delta Breeze , Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority from Stanislaus County, and San Joaquin RTD from Stockton. Many BART stations are also served by privately run employer and hospital shuttles, and privately run intercity buses stop at several stations. BART also runs directly to two of
2750-1261: Is operated by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District which formed in 1957. The initial system opened in stages from 1972 to 1974. The system has been extended several times, most recently in 2020, when Milpitas and Berryessa/North San José stations opened as part of the under construction Silicon Valley BART extension in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). BART serves large portions of its three member counties – San Francisco , Alameda , and Contra Costa – as well as smaller portions of San Mateo County and Santa Clara counties. The system has 50 stations : 22 in Alameda County, 12 in Contra Costa County, 8 in San Francisco, 6 in San Mateo County, and 2 in Santa Clara County. BART operates five named heavy rail services plus one separate automated guideway line. All of
2860-499: Is planned to be completed by 2036. Plans had long been floated for an extension from Dublin to Livermore, but the most recent proposal was rejected by the BART board in 2018. Other plans have included an extension to Hercules, a line along the Interstate Highway 680 corridor, and a fourth set of rail tracks through Oakland. At least four infill stations such as Irvington and Calaveras on existing lines have been proposed. With
2970-440: Is separated from the rest of the line. BART has elements of both traditional rapid transit (high-frequency urban service with close station spacing) and commuter rail / regional rail (lower-frequency suburban service with wider station spacing). Trains on each primary service run every 20 minutes, except the busy Yellow Line, which operates every 10 minutes on weekdays. Segments served by multiple lines have higher frequencies,
3080-467: Is working to implement a 30-minute "grace period" before the fare is charged. Unlike many other rapid transit systems, BART does not have weekly or monthly passes with unlimited rides. The only discount provided to the general public is a 6.25% reduction when "high value tickets" (only available on Clipper cards with autoload) are purchased with fare values of $ 48 and $ 64. 50% discount is available to youth aged 5–18 (children age 4 and under ride free), and
3190-609: The California Zephyr , Capitol Corridor , and San Joaquins – stop at Richmond station ; the Capitol Corridor also stops at Oakland Coliseum station . Transfer between BART and the Caltrain commuter rail service is available at Millbrae station . BART and most lines of San Francisco's Muni Metro light rail system share four stations ( Embarcadero , Montgomery Street , Powell Street , and Civic Center/UN Plaza ) in
3300-405: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , the BART equipment was mostly undamaged. A 2010 study concluded that along with some Bay Area freeways, some of BART's overhead structures could collapse in a major earthquake, which has a significant probability of occurring within three decades. Seismic retrofitting has been carried out since 2004 upon voter approval to address these deficiencies, especially in
3410-484: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and federal formula funds. The "Trolley Renewal Project" would entail several improvements. Each station would get larger shelters to provide more protection from sun and rain, new benches, and digital "next arrival" signs. Worn-out infrastructure was replaced as needed, including rails, ties, catenary wires, power lines and electrical substations. The project also included
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3520-649: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns beginning in March 2020, during which BART was forced to drastically cut service. Ridership in the weeks immediately following the start of the Bay Area's lockdown (on March 17, 2020) fell by as much as 93%. If ridership does not recover and additional revenue is not obtained, in the worst case the agency projected it would only be able to sustain trains on three lines running once an hour from 5am to 9pm weekdays, and would have to close nine stations. As of May 2024 , weekday ridership
3630-656: The California Transportation Commission announced that they would provide funding for expanding BART facilities, through the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority , in anticipation of the opening of the Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension . $ 50 million would go in part to improvements to the Hayward Maintenance Complex. In March 2019, BART announced that they would begin updating ticket add-fare machines inside
3740-671: The Doolittle Maintenance and Storage Facility . eBART vehicles use a facility in Antioch. BART has distance-based fares , which requires riders to use fare gates to both enter and exit, with a flat fare of $ 2.15 for trips under 6 miles (9.7 km). A surcharge is added for trips traveling through the Transbay Tube ($ 1.40), to/from Oakland International Airport ($ 6.70) or San Francisco International Airport ($ 4.95), and to/from San Mateo County ($ 1.45, except $ 1.25 for Daly City). The maximum fare, including both airport surcharges and
3850-618: The Green Line . The line also featured the first low-floor trolley vehicles, that allow passengers to board without climbing stairs and allowed passengers using wheelchairs to use a small bridge plate instead of the slower lifts on the older trains. But, the new vehicles could only operate on the Green Line, forcing passengers heading between Mission Valley and downtown San Diego to change trains in Old Town. (This restriction no longer applies.) In
3960-1045: The Market Street subway ; connections are also available to three lines at Balboa Park station and one line at Glen Park station . A tunnel at the Powell Street station connects to the Union Square/Market Street station on the Muni Metro T Third Street line. In the South Bay, Milpitas station provides a connection to the Orange Line of VTA light rail . BART is served by bus connections from regional and local transit agencies at all stations, most of which have dedicated off-street bus transfer areas. Many connecting routes (particularly in suburban areas) serve primarily as feeder routes to BART. Larger bus systems connecting to BART include Muni in San Francisco, AC Transit in
4070-521: The Salesforce Transit Center . The original Early Bird Express network introduced in February 2019 had fifteen routes, but some were eliminated later that year due to low ridership. Intermodal connections to local, regional, and intercity transit – including bus, light rail , commuter rail , and intercity rail – are available across the BART system. Three Amtrak intercity rail services –
4180-644: The San Diego Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter opened on June 30, 1990. Later in the decade, the South Line was extended to the north, reaching Little Italy on July 2, 1992, and Old Town on June 16, 1996. The system was further expanded east from the Old Town station as the Mission Valley Line, which opened on November 23, 1997. It proceeded eastward from Old Town to Fashion Valley Mall , Mission Valley Mall, and San Diego Stadium . At
4290-738: The San Diego Electric Railway . San Diego's streetcar system had been replaced with buses in 1949, and by 1966 the local bus company, San Diego Transit, was facing a financial crisis and public takeover. Planning for mass transit in the San Diego region began in 1966 under the auspices of the Comprehensive Planning Organization (CPO, now known as the San Diego Association of Governments , SANDAG), an intergovernmental agency of 13 cities and San Diego County. Over
4400-522: The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) campus, three major hospitals on (and adjacent to) the campus, and Westfield UTC mall. Construction began in October 2016, and train testing on the line began in late June 2021. The Mid-Coast extension opened on November 21, 2021. The Blue Line was re-extended north from its original northern terminus at America Plaza to run through five existing stations (up to and including its pre-2012 terminus,
4510-490: The heritage streetcar Silver Line , operates more limited weekday and weekend service, in a clockwise 'circle-loop' around downtown San Diego only (this is an overlay of existing parts of other lines in downtown). The San Diego Trolley system has 62 operational stations serving its three major Trolley lines ( Blue , Green , and Orange ), as well as the Copper Line shuttle and limited-service Silver Line . Thirteen of
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4620-477: The paid area to accept debit and credit cards for payment (for Clipper cards only). In December 2020, BART completed the changeover to Clipper and stopped issuing magstripe paper tickets. Existing paper tickets remained valid. In April 2021, BART began accepting Clipper cards on Apple Pay , Google Pay , and the Clipper app at all BART stations. By December 2023, the fare system was entirely Clipper-only. During
4730-557: The state sales tax for funding transportation projects, including mass transit. A 1974 amendment to Article 19 of the Constitution of California permitted the use of gas tax revenues, previously reserved for highway construction, for construction of rail systems. Finally, a 1975 law established the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) with a clear mission: design, construct and operate
4840-534: The 1970s, and direct service from Daly City to Richmond and Fremont was not phased in until several years after the system opened. Some of the early safety concerns appeared to be well founded when the system experienced a number of train-control failures in its first few years of operation. As early as 1969, before revenue service began, several BART engineers identified safety problems with the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system. The BART Board of Directors
4950-495: The 1990 fiscal year. Ridership would not drop back to previous levels after the repair of the bridge until the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the Bay Area in March 2020. Between 2010 and 2015, BART ridership grew rapidly, mirroring strong economic growth in the Bay Area. In 2015, the system was carrying approximately 100,000 more passengers each day than it had five years earlier. High gasoline prices also contributed to growth, pushing ridership to record levels during 2012, with
5060-596: The All Nighter system except for the Antioch – Rockridge and Bay Fair – Dublin/Pleasanton segments plus Warm Springs/South Fremont station . The Early Bird Express network provides service to major BART stations between 3:50 am and 5:30 am. Two San Francisco/Peninsula routes and seven Transbay routes run between a limited number of major BART stations, with the San Francisco/Peninsula and Transbay routes meeting at
5170-585: The BART system opened, planners projected several possible extensions. Although Marin County was left out of the original system, the 1970 Golden Gate Transportation Facilities Plan considered a tunnel under the Golden Gate or second deck on the bridge, but neither of these plans was pursued. Over twenty years would pass before the first extensions to the BART system were completed to Colma and Pittsburg/Bay Point in 1996. An extension to Dublin/Pleasanton in 1997 added
5280-661: The BART system. The district initially began with five members, all of which were projected to receive BART lines: Alameda County , Contra Costa County , the City and County of San Francisco , San Mateo County , and Marin County . Although invited to participate, Santa Clara County supervisors elected not to join BART due to their dissatisfaction that the peninsula line only stopped at Palo Alto initially, and that it interfered with suburban development in San Jose , preferring instead to concentrate on constructing freeways and expressways. Though
5390-512: The Blue Line between America Plaza and San Ysidro boosts frequency to every 7.5 minutes during weekdays. The San Diego Trolley operates on a proof-of-payment system. Passengers must have proof of fare (ticket or pass) before boarding. Self-serve ticket-vending machines located at each station sell one-way paper tickets and passes (one day and monthly) on the Pronto Card . (An older fare card that
5500-513: The Blue Line) was completed by January 27, 2015, The project, including remaining station and track renovations, was completed in late 2015. In 2011, SANDAG received key approval for the Mid-coast extension of the Blue Line , running from Old Town Transit Center 11 miles (17.7 km) north to the University City community, serving major activity and employment centers such as Mission Bay Park,
5610-541: The CPO's 1975 Regional Transportation Plan and was guided by principles set by the MTDB board: the corridor should extend a long-distance and offer high-speed operation, the system should be at grade in a mostly exclusive right-of-way , capital costs should be low, and operating deficits should be minimized. Phase 1 studied over 100 miles of potential corridors with 45 miles of corridor recommended for further evaluation in Phase 2. At about
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#17328590385345720-604: The California State Senate, California Public Utilities Commission, and National Transportation Safety Board. Hearings by the state legislature in 1974 into financial mismanagement at BART forced the General Manager to resign in May 1974, and the entire Board of Directors was replaced the same year when the legislature passed legislation leading to the election of a new Board and the end of appointed members. Even before
5830-726: The East Bay, SamTrans in San Mateo County, County Connection and Tri Delta Transit in eastern Contra Costa County, WestCAT in western Contra Costa County, WHEELS in the Tri-Valley, VTA in the Santa Clara Valley, and Golden Gate Transit . Smaller systems include Emery Go-Round in Emeryville, Commute.org on the Peninsula, San Leandro LINKS , Dumbarton Express , and Union City Transit . The Salesforce Transit Center regional bus hub
5940-576: The Future", were unveiled in April 2016. The first cars were expected to be in service in December 2016, however, glitches and a failed CPUC inspection delayed introduction to January 19, 2018. A total of 775 cars were ordered from Bombardier (which merged with Alstom during production): 310 cab cars (D-cars) and 465 non-cab cars (E-cars). As of July 23, 2024 , BART has received all 775 D and E cars, of which 769 have been certified for service. To run its peak service, BART requires 400 cars. Of those, 384 are scheduled to be in active service;
6050-477: The Green Line, these are Fashion Valley Transit Center , Stadium , Mission San Diego , and Grantville . There is just one trolley station in the system that is underground – SDSU Transit Center – also on the Green Line. About half of San Diego Trolley stations offer free park and ride lots. Most trolley stations offer connections to MTS bus lines . The San Diego Trolley's four main lines operate regular service between 5 am and 11:30 pm, seven days
6160-438: The MTDB established San Diego Trolley, Inc. to operate and maintain the new light rail system and on July 26, 1981, service began. Trains operated every 20 minutes (timed to meet at four passing tracks on the single track sections) between 5 am and 9 pm and carried approximately 10,000 passengers a day. In light of the strong ridership, construction of the second phase was started almost immediately, which involved double-tracking
6270-404: The Old Town Transit Center), and continuing to nine new trolley stations: Tecolote Road, Clairemont Drive, Balboa Avenue, Nobel Drive, VA Medical Center, UCSD West/Pepper Canyon, UCSD East/Voigt Drive, Executive Drive, and UTC. The northern terminal station, UTC, is part of the UTC Transit Center, at Westfield UTC in the University City/UC San Diego area. In early 2024, the MTS proposed truncating
6380-419: The Orange Line was truncated to Santa Fe Depot and the Blue Line to America Plaza . The new alignment meant all lines now passed through downtown and created a universal transfer point for all lines at 12th & Imperial Transit Center. By January 9, 2013, all stations on the Orange Line had been rebuilt, allowing low-floor LRVs to begin service on a second line. Rebuilding of the remaining stations (all on
6490-403: The Regional Transportation Plan which included a 58-mile (93 km) intermediate capacity fixed guideway system (an untested technology at the time) at a cost of $ 1.5 billion. In the early 1970s, three state legislative acts would set the stage for the construction of mass transit in the San Diego region. Transportation Development Act, signed by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1971, earmarked 25% of
6600-465: The S70 US ("Ultra Short") which retains the low-floor design, but would be the same length as the older high-floor vehicles (80 feet (24 m)). The MTS and SANDAG agreed to purchase a total of 65 vehicles, which would arrive between September 2011 and January 27, 2015. However, there was not enough funding to replace all 123 high-floor cars at once. The decision was made to retire the original Siemens-Duewag U2 LRVs, and operate three-car trains with
6710-412: The SD&AE La Mesa Branch from downtown San Diego to El Cajon. With all the planning in place, construction of the 15.9-mile (25.6 km) "South Line" transit corridor (the southern portion of today's Blue Line ) was able to begin just one month after acquisition in December 1979 and would be accomplished in two phases. The first phase of the project cost $ 86 million, which included the purchase of
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#17328590385346820-421: The SD&AE corridor and purchasing 10 additional vehicles. Upon completion of double-tracking in February 1983, the total cost of the project was $ 116.6 million. The success of the San Diego Trolley would also spark a nationwide revival of light rail in the late 1980s, with lines built in several other mid-sized cities ( Buffalo , Denver , Portland , Sacramento and San Jose ). The San Diego Trolley added
6930-402: The SD&AE, 14 light rail vehicles, construction of a single-tracked electrified light rail line along the 14.2-mile (22.9 km) SD&AE Main Line and construction of a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) section of new street running tracks in downtown San Diego. To control costs, only minor rehabilitation was conducted on the SD&AE corridor, with the MTDB replacing about 40% of the ties, welding
7040-406: The San Diego Trolley. MTS also has a more extensive slideshow and timeline available. The last day of streetcar operation in San Diego was April 23, 1949. On July 19, 1981 electric railcars returned to San Diego streets on the first modern American light rail system integrated with its bus system. Electric rail service in San Diego traces its roots back to 1891 when John D. Spreckels incorporated
7150-420: The San Francisco International Airport and the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. At SFO, ride-hailing services grew by a factor of almost six or nearly 500% at the airport between 2014 and 2016. BART planners believe that competition from Uber and Lyft is reducing overall ridership growth and BART's share of airport transit. Stations in the urban cores of San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley have
7260-562: The Transbay Tube . BART projects that Transbay Tube retrofits are expected to be completed in 2023. The mainline BART network operates with electric powered, self-propelled railcars . For most lines, six cars are coupled together in a train, except the Yellow Line, which uses eight-car trains. BART trains have gangway connections , and passengers can move freely between cars. The cars have three doors on each side, bike racks, 54 seats per car, and interior and exterior displays giving information. The new cars, branded by BART as its "Fleet of
7370-551: The Transbay Tube nearing capacity, long-range plans included a new four-bore Transbay Tube beneath San Francisco Bay that would run parallel and south of the existing tunnel and emerge at the Transbay Transit Terminal to connect to Caltrain and the future California High-Speed Rail system. The four-bore tunnel would provide two tunnels for BART and two tunnels for conventional/high-speed rail. The BART system and conventional U.S. rail use different and incompatible rail gauges and different loading gauges . In 2018, BART announced that
7480-474: The Transbay Tube to the San Francisco Peninsula. This service complements the Red Line during daytime hours and replaces that line when it stops operating after 9pm. The first inbound trains leave outer terminals around 5:00 am on weekdays, 6:00 am on Saturdays, and 8:00 am on Sundays and most holidays. The last trains of the service day leave their terminals around midnight; the final Yellow and Orange Line trains in both directions meet at MacArthur station , and
7590-428: The Transbay surcharge, is $ 17.60; the maximum without surcharges ( Antioch – Berryessa/North San José ) is $ 10.30. As of June 2022 , the average fare paid is $ 3.93. Because of the varied fares, it is possible to enter the system with enough stored value for a shorter trip, but not a longer trip. Passengers without sufficient fare to complete their journey must use an add-fare machine to add value in order to exit
7700-413: The U.S. economy, growing modestly during periods of economic expansion and dropping slightly during recessions. A major exception occurred in 1989 in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake , which severely damaged the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge , causing its closure for a month. BART became the only direct route between the East Bay and San Francisco, resulting in a nearly 17% ridership jump for
7810-425: The Yellow Line, opened on May 26, 2018. BART's most significant current extension project is the Silicon Valley BART extension on the Green and Orange Lines. The first phase extended the Fremont line to Warm Springs/South Fremont in early 2017, and the second phase to Berryessa/North San José began service on June 13, 2020. The third phase to Santa Clara is contingent upon the allocation of funding as of May 2020 , but
7920-464: The board selected light rail as the lone guideway transit technology to be studied (it would also be compared to several all-bus alternatives). In making the decision to pursue light rail, the MTBD board said it best followed the principles it laid out as light rail can offer high-speed travel, the right-of-way is flexible, and construction costs can be low when at-grade construction is maximized. The technology
8030-534: The busiest of which is the section between Daly City and West Oakland, which has around 15 trains per hour (one train about every four minutes), per direction at peak hours. The Oakland Airport Connector runs "on demand", typically on headways of 10 minutes or less. Timed cross-platform transfers are available between the Orange Line, which operates only in the East Bay, and the Yellow Line, which operates through
8140-430: The cities and suburbs. Marvin E. Lewis, a San Francisco trial attorney and member of the city's board of supervisors spearheaded a grassroots movement to advance the idea of an alternative bay crossing and the possibility of regional transit network. Formal planning for BART began with the setting up in 1957 of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District , a county-based special-purpose district body that governs
8250-620: The eastern terminus of both the Green and Orange lines to El Cajon Transit Center , replacing the easternmost sections of both lines with a Copper Line between El Cajon and Santee station . The Copper Line was scheduled begin operations on September 29, 2024. The line would later begin operating that day. As of 2024 , trolley service operates on four daily lines: the Blue, Green, Orange, and Copper lines, and traveling through 65 total miles of mostly double-track rail and serving 62 stations. A fifth line,
8360-645: The extensive damages, SP petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the SD&AE on August 9, 1977. The MTDB immediately began studying the SD&AE corridor between downtown San Diego and the San Ysidro Port of Entry for joint use by electric light rail and freight trains. In June 1978, the MTDB found the entire joint-use project feasible. At the same time, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors became concerned about
8470-400: The final Orange and Blue Line trains in the southbound direction meet at Bay Fair station , for guaranteed transfers. Two different bus networks operated by regional transit agencies run during the overnight hours when BART is not operating. The All Nighter network provides basic overnight service to much of the Bay Area. Most BART stations are served (directly or within several blocks) by
8580-644: The floor of San Francisco Bay. Like other transit systems of the same era, BART endeavored to connect outlying suburbs with job centers in Oakland and San Francisco by building lines that paralleled established commuting routes of the region's freeway system. BART envisioned frequent local service, with headways as short as two minutes between trains through the Transbay Tube and six minutes on each individual line. Passenger service began on September 11, 1972, initially just between MacArthur and Fremont . The rest of
8690-479: The heavy rail services run through Oakland , and all but the Orange Line cross the bay through the Transbay Tube to San Francisco. All five services run every day until 9 pm; only three services operate evenings after 9 pm. All stations are served during all service hours. The eastern segment of the Yellow Line (between Antioch and the transfer platform east of Pittsburg/Bay Point) uses different rolling stock and
8800-451: The highest ridership, while suburban stations record lower rider numbers. During fiscal year 2017, the busiest station was Embarcadero with 48,526 average weekday exits, followed by Montgomery Street with 45,386. The busiest station outside of San Francisco was 12th Street Oakland City Center with 13,965 riders, followed by 19th Street Oakland with 13,456. The least busy station was Oakland International Airport with 1,517 riders, while
8910-467: The hurricane-damaged line. The deal closed on August 20, 1979, with the final acquisition occurring on November 1, 1979. The MTDB quickly secured a deal with the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad to continue freight service along the line. The purchase gave MTDB ownership of two sections of right-of-way that could be used for mass transit: the SD&AE Main Line from downtown San Diego to San Ysidro, and
9020-428: The jointed rail, constructing electric catenaries, and installing an absolute block signal system. Funding for the project came entirely from Transportation Development Act state sales tax and local gas tax revenues. Federal funds were not actively sought due to the locally perceived notion that San Diego would not qualify due to low population densities, uncongested highways, and undefined corridors. In August 1980,
9130-637: The late 2000s, as parts of the San Diego Trolley approached 30 years old, the system was in need of an overhaul of its oldest facilities. Also, after the success of the low-floor trolley cars on the Green Line, the MTS wanted to operate similar vehicles on all lines. Officials secured $ 660 million in funding after the 2008 election as voters passed the TransNet half-cent local sales tax and two statewide transportation bond measures. The project also received funding from
9240-524: The least busy standard BART station was North Concord / Martinez with 2,702 weekday exits. BART's one-day ridership record was set on Halloween of 2012 with 568,061 passengers attending the San Francisco Giants' victory parade for their World Series championship . This surpassed the record set two years earlier of 522,198 riders in 2010 for the Giants' 2010 World Series victory parade. Before that,
9350-467: The lower deck of the Bay Bridge , but the system was dismantled in the 1950s, with its last transbay crossing in 1958, and was superseded by highway travel. A 1950s study of traffic problems in the Bay Area concluded the most cost-effective solution for the Bay Area's traffic woes would be to form a transit district charged with the construction and operation of a new, high-speed rapid transit system linking
9460-479: The new low-floor LRVs in the front and back, and an older high-floor Siemens SD-100 car in the middle. In late 2010, work to rebuild the stations started at Old Town Transit Center and worked south. By September 2, 2012, work was completed on the Old Town and Bayshore lines, allowing for a realignment of service. The Green Line was extended from its former western terminus in Old Town south to 12th & Imperial Transit Center 's Bayside Terminal platform, while
9570-489: The next decade, the CPO researched various technologies including improvements to local buses, express buses, heavy rail, light rail, and advanced technologies. The CPO also closely studied the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, then under construction. Ultimately, the early studies went nowhere due to disagreements between stakeholders and a lack of funding. In 1975, the CPO published
9680-470: The other stations are located in the cities of Chula Vista , El Cajon , La Mesa , Lemon Grove , National City , and Santee . Most of the stations in the San Diego Trolley system are 'at-grade' stations. There are 10 aerial stations, mostly on the Blue Line, with some on the Green Line. For the Blue Line, these are Nobel Drive , VA Medical Center , UC San Diego Central Campus , UC San Diego Health La Jolla , Executive Drive , and UTC Transit Center. For
9790-541: The others are used to build up spare trains (used to maintain on-time service). The previous BART fleet, consisting of A, B, and C cars, was built between 1968 and 1996. It was retired from regular service on September 11, 2023, with the final revenue runs on April 20, 2024. The Oakland Airport Connector uses a completely separate and independently operated fleet of cable car-based automated guideway transit vehicles. It uses four Cable Liner trains built by DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car , arranged as three-car sets, but
9900-418: The potential loss of freight service on the SD&AE, which was seen as vital to the county's economic interests and the continued viability of San Diego as a deep-water port. The county commissioned its own study to examine using a portion of the SD&AE tracks for passenger service which would share the track with freight services, the motivation being the transit services could share the costs of maintaining
10010-613: The record was 442,100 riders in October 2009, following an emergency closure of the Bay Bridge . During a planned closure of the Bay Bridge, there were 475,015 daily riders on August 30, 2013, making that the third highest ridership. On June 19, 2015, BART recorded 548,078 riders for the Golden State Warriors championship parade, placing second on the all-time ridership list. BART set a Saturday record of 419,162 riders on February 6, 2016, coinciding with Super Bowl 50 events and
10120-472: The rest of the BART system. The withdrawals of Marin and San Mateo resulted in a downsizing of the original system plans, which would have had lines as far south as Palo Alto and northward past San Rafael . Voters in the three remaining participating counties approved the truncated system, with termini in Fremont , Richmond, Concord, and Daly City, in 1962. Construction of the system began in 1964, and included
10230-546: The same time, a working paper presented an evaluation of four guideway technologies: light rail, two categories of heavy rail, and Automated Small Vehicle Transit . In August 1977, the MTDB board selected the South Bay region for the detailed Phase 2 study. There would be several potential corridors to consider, including along freeways (Interstate highways I-5, I-8 & I-805 and State Routes 94 & 16), along existing railroad rights-of-way, and arterial roads. In October 1977
10340-415: The same time, the South Line (which now traveled north of downtown San Diego to Old Town) and East Line of the system were renamed the Blue Line and the Orange Line, respectively. The Mission Valley East extension, which opened on July 10, 2005, built the only underground station in the system at San Diego State University , as well as its highest elevated station at Grantville. This line was then renamed
10450-571: The station . As of June 2022 , entering and exiting at the same station incurs an "excursion fare" of $ 6.40 – significantly higher than many station-to-station fares. This was originally introduced to allow people to tour the then-futuristic system; it was kept to discourage undesired behaviors such as tech bus riders using BART parking lots. The excursion fare has been criticized for negatively impacting riders who leave stations during service disruptions (although station agents can allow riders to exit without fare payment). As of December 2022, BART
10560-413: The success of the system helped spark a nationwide revival of light rail. In 2023, the trolley had the highest ridership of any light rail system in the United States, with 38,047,300 annual rides, or about 129,800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. 2023 is the 42nd anniversary of the San Diego Trolley, and the MTS has prepared a brief historical review of San Diego trolleys, and in particular
10670-470: The switch to low-floor LRVs was that the traditional Siemens S70 , like those ordered for the Green Line, were over 90 feet (27 m) long, so a three-car train would not fit within downtown San Diego's 240 feet (73 m) blocks. The MTS teamed up with the Utah Transit Authority, which faced a similar problem with its system. The solution for both agencies was a specialized design Siemens called
10780-541: The system can accommodate four-car trains in the future. The eBART extension uses eight Stadler GTW diesel railcars . The Stadler GTW vehicles are diesel multiple units , which operate over standard gauge tracks (as opposed to BART's broad gauge). The initial BART system included car storage and maintenance yards in Concord, Hayward, and Richmond, with an additional maintenance only (no car storage) yard in Oakland. The Daly City car storage and maintenance yard opened in December 1988. The Oakland Airport Connector uses
10890-401: The system expanded into Santa Clara County in 2020, as of June 2024 it is still not a district member. In 1962, San Mateo County supervisors voted to leave BART, saying their voters would be paying taxes to carry mainly Santa Clara County residents (presumably along I-280 , SR 92 , and SR 85 ). The district-wide tax base was weakened by San Mateo's departure, forcing Marin County to withdraw
11000-404: The system opened in stages, with the entire system opening in 1974 when the transbay service through the Transbay Tube began. The new BART system was hailed as a major step forward in subway technology, although questions were asked concerning the safety of the system and the huge expenditures necessary for the construction of the network. Ridership remained well below projected levels throughout
11110-534: The system recording five record ridership days in September and October 2012. After six straight years of expansion, ridership growth began to slow in late 2016, dropping by 1.7% in October 2016 from the prior year. Although the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, showed an average weekday ridership of 423,395, the second-highest in BART's history, this was a 2.3% drop from FY 2016. Ridership continued to decline by approximately 3% per year between 2016 and 2019, mirroring
11220-595: The three major Bay Area airports ( San Francisco International Airport and San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport ) with service to San Jose International Airport provided by a VTA bus route available at Milpitas station . Some of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system's current coverage area was once served by an electrified streetcar and suburban train system called the Key System . This early 20th-century system once had regular transbay traffic across
11330-517: The three major lines. Since the opening of the Copper Line, riders bound for Arnele Avenue , Gillespie Field , or Santee must transfer at El Cajon Transit Center . Six trolley stations are end-of-line stations: 12th & Imperial Transit Center, Courthouse, El Cajon Transit Center, Santee, San Ysidro Transit Center , and UTC Transit Center . Thirty-seven stations are within the city limits of San Diego , serving various neighborhoods in San Diego ;
11440-565: The tracks. San Diego County proposed operating either commuter rail trains or self-powered diesel rail cars . In 1978, the Interstate Commerce Commission denied the request to abandon the SD&AE, prompting Southern Pacific to offer the railroad for sale to anyone willing to maintain freight operations on the line. The MTDB stepped in and offered to buy the SD&AE for $ 18.1 million if the Southern Pacific fully repaired
11550-511: The transit center on October 27, 2017 and trolley service began 4 years later on November 21, 2021, as the new terminus of the Blue Line ; it was constructed as part of the Mid-Coast Trolley extension project. [REDACTED] Media related to UTC Transit Center at Wikimedia Commons This California train station-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . San Diego Trolley The San Diego Trolley
11660-430: The trolley system's stations operate as transfer stations, which allow passengers to transfer between lines. 12th & Imperial Transit Center allows for transferring between the Blue, Green, and Orange lines, serving as a universal transfer point for most riders in the system. The adjacent Santa Fe Depot / America Plaza / Courthouse stations, which are within walking distance of each other, also allow for transfer among
11770-479: Was new for the United States , but was well established in Germany . On September 10, 1976, nature intervened, setting off a chain of events that would help decide the corridor to be used. Hurricane Kathleen destroyed parts of San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE) Desert Line (east of San Diego), which at the time was owned by Southern Pacific (SP) railroad. The SD&AE offered freight service with
11880-463: Was abandoned in 2010 in favor of a regional farecard. In 2009, BART became one of the first five transit agencies to accept TransLink (later renamed Clipper) cards for fare payment and began phasing out tickets. By December 2020, all BART ticket machines, except for add-fare machines inside of paid areas, were converted to Clipper use only. Tickets were no longer accepted starting in December 2023. For most of its history, BART's ridership has reflected
11990-417: Was dismissive of their concerns and retaliated by firing them. Less than a month after the system's opening, on October 2, 1972, an ATC failure caused a train to run off the end of the elevated track at the terminal Fremont station and crash to the ground, injuring four people. The "Fremont Flyer" led to a comprehensive redesign of the train controls and also resulted in multiple investigations being opened by
12100-714: Was used was the Compass Card .) Roving transit enforcement personnel conduct random ticket inspections throughout the system. If customers are caught without a valid fare, they may be fined. Based on frequent security inspections, nearly 98% of the 37 million patrons have proper fares. Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit ( BART ) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California . BART serves 50 stations along six routes and 131 miles (211 kilometers) of track, including eBART ,
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