BART’s efforts to lower crime and improve on cleanliness continue to pay off with improvements in ridership and customer satisfaction, according to new figures from the transit agency. However, use of the train system remains about half what it was before it plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BART total ridership grew 6.4% in the third fiscal quarter of 2025 from January through March over the same quarter last year, according to the latest BART report. Weekday ridership increased nearly 7% over the same quarter compared to the last year, while weekends had even bigger gains as more families are taking BART to events.
“The increases in ridership we’ve been seeing this year are encouraging and are beating our projections,” said Chris Filippi, communications officer at BART. “Ridership in May was up 5% compared with May ’24 and exceeded our budget expectations by 3%. This increase was primarily driven by surges in weekend ridership.”
The report indicated that the average Saturday in 2025 had a 14% ridership increase, and the average Sunday ridership this year grew by more than 8% compared to the same quarter last year. The Quarterly Performance Review also showed that customer satisfaction is at 84%. Train cleanliness improved by 58% and station cleanliness improved by 52% over last year, Filippi said.
BART officials credited much of the improvement in ridership and public satisfaction to increased police presence and cleaning efforts.
“The BART Police Department is seeing firsthand the transformation that is taking place at BART thanks to the dedication of our sworn officers, ambassadors, fare inspectors, crisis intervention specialists and community service officers,” said Kevin Franklin, BART’s Chief of Police. “Riding BART today is nothing like what it was during the pandemic. Our new deployment strategies and proactive enforcement provide a more welcoming experience for families in our stations and trains.”
In the latest report, overall robberies decreased from 42 in the previous quarter to 21, while theft of electronics decreased from 43 in the previous quarter to 21. Crimes against persons decreased from 9.6 last quarter to 6.2 crimes per one million trips in the third quarter. These gains come as police-related customer service complaints dropped by 63% year over year.
BART is installing new fare gates systemwide as part of its effort to improve the customer experience and overhaul safety. Fare evasion — a longtime challenge for the transit system — has also declined, with reported fare evasion dropping from 24% to 15% over the past year. The upgraded gates, now in 40 stations and set to reach all 50 by the end of 2025, feature advanced locks and sensors better suited to riders with wheelchairs, strollers or luggage.
The report said riders report fewer safety concerns through the BART Watch App.
Reports dropped to 2,398 this quarter, down from 3,166 a year ago. BART recently also placed 400 posters in its train cars targeting unwanted activities such as smoking, harassment and unruly behavior.
Still, overall ridership has grown slowly and remains stubbornly low at about half pre-pandemic levels in 2019. May’s ridership of 4.67 million is barely higher than the 4.44 million in May 2024 and less than half the 10.23 million in May 2019.
That continues to raise questions among critics around the region as transit advocates contemplate a 2026 regional tax measure to prop up BART’s finances as pandemic-era funds dry up.
“I continue to raise questions about whether BART has financially right-sized the agency based on ridership,” said Steve Glazer, a former state senator from the East Bay who has long criticized the agency’s management. “In other words, are they making the tough, hard decisions to align ridership with revenue? If BART is going to go out to taxpayers to ask for money, they need to make a strong case that they have been acting in a fiscally responsible way. The evidence doesn’t necessarily support that.”
Filippi said in response that “we are hopeful that as return-to-office rates rise, BART will continue to see increases in our weekday ridership.”
“Current and former riders have been clear that their safety needs to be our top priority, and we are committed to showing them that we are listening,” Filippi said. “We believe the increased safety presence, installation of Next Generation Fare Gates, increased cleaning, and running only the new Fleet of the Future trains will show everyone that the BART experience has been transformed.”
Phuc Le, a 28-year-old architectural designer living in Fremont, takes BART nearly every day for work and says it’s noticeably improved. Le said he was attacked twice at BART stations. Despite those frightening experiences, he remains a regular BART commuter, encouraged by the recent changes and hoping safety continues to improve.
“There were always homeless people on the train, and even when they sanitized the seats, they still felt dirty,” Le said. “But now, I think they try to improve every day. Sometimes, you still see one or two homeless people, but overall it feels safer.”
Charles Hug, 36, who has lived in Oakland for the past six years and was on his way to the Legion of Honor Museum on Friday, said he appreciates the convenience when he uses BART.
“I enjoy it,” Hug said. “It’s convenient enough during commute hours. When you’re on your commute, it takes forever to wait for a train, but it gets me into the city without the hassle of traffic.”