BART sees ridership dip as coronavirus fears spread
A BART employee cleans a platform.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Fear of spreading the novel coronavirus may have caused a dip in ridership for at least one Bay Area transit agency, according to data released Tuesday by BART.
According to a spokesman for the agency, BART ridership from March 2 to March 5 was down 8 percent compared to ridership from Feb. 24 to 27.
Spokesman Jim Allison said BART officials are mulling how the agency could be affected financially in the coming weeks and months if the risk of contracting coronavirus increases.
February ridership data for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District is not yet available.
However, an AC Transit spokesman said the agency has no immediate plans to alter its service due to the hardship the coronavirus could represent to East Bay residents.
"Although some Bay Area employers have asked their employees to work from home, we know that not all workers can perform their jobs remotely," AC Transit spokesman Robert Lyles said in an emailed statement. "We know that right now, many East Bay schools remain open and AC Transit bus lines are a primary means of transportation to schools. We also know that we are the primary mode of transportation for the elderly and persons with disabilities."
Spokespeople for Caltrain, SamTrans and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their latest ridership numbers.
While concern about the coronavirus' communal spread have heightened as cases continue to pop up in counties around the Bay Area, local transit agencies have taken steps to improve their cleanliness such as disinfecting train cars, buses and transit stations more often and offering personal protective masks and gloves to employees.
Local jurisdictions have echoed state public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in calling for the cancellation of large public gatherings to keep the virus from spreading.
Several cities and counties have preemptively canceled their St. Patrick's Day events, public meetings and, in the case of Santa Clara County, the public attendance of San Jose Sharks professional hockey games.
In addition, high schools and colleges around the Bay Area have closed their campuses or canceled in-person classes to prevent the virus' spread.
As of Sunday, 114 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the state.