BART adding more trips as pandemic eases

LAFAYETTE, Calif. - The demand for BART is going up and the transit agency is responding with more trips.

BART added 26 more trips running Monday to Friday, including to SFO. 

BART says this is in response to more people riding its trains daily.

Ridership is about 17% compared to pre-pandemic levels, which is about 70,000 people a day.

The added trips will affect the yellow, green and red lines, but will not affect the blue lines. 

In Oakland and San Francisco, the frequency for a train is typically 15 minutes.

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But that could be cut to as short as four minutes in the morning and evening when ridership is at its peak. 

Several BART passengers said they're happy to see life headed one step closer to normal.  

"I just feel like we need more public transportation," said James Bart. "Personally, I ride my bike to school all the time, so I'd like more public transportation. I'd like to see more busses, more transit. I'd like to see more access

BART trains will still only run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Service until midnight is expected to return at the end of August. 

That's when BART says they plan to operate close to pre-pandemic levels.

At that point, all trains should have a frequency of about 15 minutes.