Bay Area Rapid Transit District

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A map of California, with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District highlighted in blue, non-member counties served by BART in yellow, and the former (unserved) member county, Marin, in red. BART District.svg
A map of California, with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District highlighted in blue, non-member counties served by BART in yellow, and the former (unserved) member county, Marin, in red.

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, or BART, is a special-purpose district body that governs the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco. The system itself also serves northern San Mateo County and Santa Clara County; however, these counties have bought into the system and have neither a voting stake nor any representatives in the district proper. [1] The District currently operates 50 stations, 817 rail cars, 131 miles of track (33.5 miles on elevated railway, 65.1 miles of track at-grade and 32.8 miles of subway track.) [2]

Contents

History

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (occasionally abbreviated in early years to BARTD) was created in 1957 [3] to provide a transit alternative between suburbs in the East Bay and job centers in San Francisco's Financial District as well as (to a lesser extent) those in Downtown Oakland and Downtown Berkeley.

Of the six Bay Area counties initially envisioned as participants—San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara—only Santa Clara County refused to join when the district was first set up; it originally included both San Mateo and Marin counties. San Mateo opted out in 1962, preferring to utilize funds to build its freeway and expressway system.[ citation needed ] Marin left a month after San Mateo, fearing that it would be unable to absorb its share of operating costs with San Mateo's withdrawal. Marin was also concerned by ongoing debate about the feasibility of running trains across a lower deck of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Expansion

The Silicon Valley BART Extension, managed by the VTA, is a 6-mile extension of BART service to San Jose and Santa Clara in Santa Clara County. Phase I was completed with the opening of the Berryessa/North San José station in 2020, which is the first BART station in San Jose. Phase II includes the build-out to Little Portugal with the 28th Street/Little Portugal station, Downtown San Jose with the Downtown San José station, Diridon station, and into the City of Santa Clara with the Santa Clara station. [4] Construction and testing is expected to be completed 2028–2030.

Governance

The BART district is split into nine electorals districts, each of which elects one board member. The elections are staggered so that directors serve four year terms, with half the board up for election every two years. Odd-numbered districts (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) vote in presidential election years, while even-numbered districts (2, 4, 6, and 8) vote in midterm election years.

One board member acts as president. The board members hire and fire five officers: the general manager, controller-treasurer, independent police auditor, general counsel, and district secretary.

Current board of directors

As of November 2022, the current board members are:

District
No.
Board MemberCounty(s)Stations
1Debora AllenContra CostaConcord, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre, Walnut Creek
2Mark FoleyContra CostaNorth Concord/Martinez, Pittsburg/Bay Point
3Rebecca Saltzman (President)Alameda / Contra CostaBay Fair, Downtown Berkeley, El Cerrito del Norte (partial), El Cerrito Plaza (partial), North Berkeley, Orinda, Rockridge, San Leandro
4Robert RaburnAlamedaColiseum/Oakland Airport, Fruitvale, Lake Merritt, 12th Street/Oakland City Center, 19th Street/Oakland, MacArthur (partial)
5John McPartlandAlamedaCastro Valley, Dublin/Pleasanton, Hayward, West Dublin/Pleasanton
6Liz AmesAlamedaFremont, South Hayward, Union City
7 Lateefah Simon [5] Alameda / Contra Costa / San FranciscoAshby, El Cerrito del Norte (partial), El Cerrito Plaza (partial), MacArthur (partial), Montgomery (partial), Richmond, West Oakland, Embarcadero (partial)
8Janice LiSan FranciscoBalboa Park (partial), Embarcadero (partial), Montgomery (partial)
9 Bevan Dufty San Francisco16th Street Mission, 24th Street Mission, Glen Park, Civic Center, Powell Street, Balboa Park (partial)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Area Rapid Transit</span> Rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area

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 of track, including a 9-mile (14 km) spur line running to Antioch, which uses diesel multiple unit vehicles, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) automated guideway transit line serving Oakland International Airport. With an average of 160,400 weekday passengers as of the fourth quarter of 2023 and 48,119,400 annual passengers in 2023, BART is the seventh-busiest rapid transit system in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC Transit</span> Public transit operator in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California

AC Transit is an Oakland-based public transit agency serving the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. AC Transit also operates "Transbay" routes across San Francisco Bay to San Francisco and selected areas in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. AC Transit is constituted as a special district under California law. It is governed by seven elected members. It is not a part of or under the control of Alameda or Contra Costa counties or any local jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority</span> Public transit operator in Santa Clara County, California

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a special district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California. It serves San Jose, California, and the surrounding Silicon Valley. It is one of the governing parties for the Caltrain commuter rail line that serves the county. In 2023, the VTA's public transportation services had a combined ridership of 26,610,000, or about 87,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremont station (BART)</span> Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in San Francisco Bay Area

Fremont station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in the central district of Fremont, California. The station is served by the Orange and Green lines. It was the southern terminus of both lines from September 11, 1972, until March 25, 2017, when Warm Springs/South Fremont station opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Diridon station</span> Transit hub in San Jose, California, U.S.

San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area</span> Overview of transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States

People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Nighter (bus service)</span> San Francisco Bay Area late night bus service

The All Nighter is a night bus service network in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Portions of the service shadow the rapid transit and commuter rail services of BART and Caltrain, which are the major rail services between San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and San Jose. Neither BART nor Caltrain operate owl service due to overnight track maintenance; the All Nighter network helps fill in this service gap. The slogan is, "Now transit stays up as late as you do!"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Clara Transit Center</span> Train station in Santa Clara, California, U.S.

Santa Clara Transit Center is a railway station in downtown Santa Clara, California. It is served by Caltrain, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains. It is the planned terminus for the Silicon Valley BART extension into Santa Clara County on the future Green and Orange Lines. The former station building, constructed in 1863 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, is used by the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VTA light rail</span> Light rail system in Santa Clara County, California

The VTA light rail system serves San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, and consists of 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising three main lines on standard gauge tracks. Originally opened on December 11, 1987, the light rail system has gradually expanded since then, and currently has 60 stations in operation.

Throughout the history of Bay Area Rapid Transit, there have been plans to extend service to other areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milpitas station</span> Transit center served by BART trains, VTA light rail and buses

Milpitas station, also known as Milpitas Transit Center, is an intermodal transit station located near the intersection of East Capitol Avenue and Montague Expressway in Milpitas, California. The station is served by the Orange Line and Green Line Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) lines, the Orange Line of the VTA light rail system, VTA buses, and AC Transit buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berryessa/North San José station</span> BART station in San Jose, California, United States

Berryessa/North San José station is an intermodal transit center located in the Berryessa district of San Jose, California. The station is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses. The transit center opened for bus service on December 28, 2019, and subsequently for BART service on June 13, 2020. The station is the southern terminus of the Orange and Green lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th Street/Little Portugal station</span>

28th Street/Little Portugal station is a proposed underground Bay Area Rapid Transit station in the Little Portugal neighborhood of San Jose, California. It would be located north of East Santa Clara Street between North 28th Street and U.S. Route 101, behind Five Wounds Portuguese National Church. Preceded by Berryessa/North San José station, it would be the first station of the Phase II portion of the Silicon Valley BART extension. The station would have direct service to Santa Clara, Richmond, and San Francisco/Daly City. In planning, the station was referred to as Alum Rock/28th Street, after the Alum Rock neighborhood to the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown San José station</span> Planned underground BART stop

Downtown San José station is a proposed underground Bay Area Rapid Transit station underneath Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose, planned as part of Silicon Valley BART extension Phase II. The station would be co-located with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's existing Santa Clara light rail station, and be located between the proposed 28th Street/Little Portugal station and a transfer station at San Jose Diridon Station. The station eventually connects to the proposed Santa Clara BART station. Revenue service, which will be served by the Orange and Green Lines, is envisioned to start in 2036.

The Silicon Valley BART extension is an ongoing effort to expand the Green and Orange Line service by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into Santa Clara County via the East Bay from its former terminus at the Fremont station in Alameda County. Planned since at least 1981, the project has seven stations in three sequential phases.

This is a list of lists of San Francisco Bay Area topics, lists related to the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and its various subregions, excluding lists specific to the city of San Francisco itself. For the San Francisco-related lists, see Lists of San Francisco topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the major cities of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, was an early center of the COVID-19 pandemic in California. The first case of COVID-19 in the area was confirmed in Santa Clara County on January 31, 2020. A Santa Clara County resident was the earliest known death caused by COVID-19 in the United States, on February 6, suggesting that community spread of COVID-19 had been occurring long before any actual documented case. This article covers the 13 members of ABAHO, which includes the nine-county Bay Area plus the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.

References

  1. "Guide to California Government". April 2016.
  2. "2022 BART Fact Sheet" (PDF). Bay Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  3. "San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District". CalTransit.org. California Transit Association. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  4. "VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II". www.vta.org.
  5. Cano, Ricardo (2022-06-10). "BART board Director Lateefah Simon moves to Emeryville, settling dispute over residency". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-11-09.