r/Bart

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I ride BART occasionally (not for commuting) and last year had several bad experiences with tailgaters (all with the "new" fare gates). On one, the tailgater ran into me and the station agent called him out for assault. Other times, the agents don't help at all. These days, I avoid BART if at all possible. Has the general situation improved?

PS: I'm aware of tactics to avoid dealing with tailgaters, but I feel this just pushes the problem onto other honest riders.

Edit: updated to clarify that these were with the "new" fare gates, since per https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/fare-gate many stations were still using the "old" ones in 2025.

Talking with a Bay Area Connect organizer, they have until end of May to collect signatures but they are ending tomorrow May 17th because they think they have enough signatures.

If that's true, it's awesome!

Next step is to get a majority at the polls. That's doable.

Anyone else run into this or know where to get updates?

BART.gov doesn't have any info atm. The station agents at both my stops said it's a systemwide issue for fast passes, and had me use the service door by the booths to get in and out.

Special early morning trains for bay to breaker runners and spectators

I'm planning on using my bike to get to 16th Street Bart station and ideally locking it at the station and unlocking once I'm back from work. For the people that have used it, what's your experience been? Is it easy to use? Is it effective against theft? Thanks in advance

feel like caltrain and bart have such different perceptions (and lived experiences) that go beyond just them being different methods of transit. does anyone here know whether there's some funding/planning/historical reason for it?

I have around $4 on BART HVD. Since I don’t use BART for small rides, most of my rides end up costing over $6. How can I exhaust HVD money? Why doesn‘t BART charge both HVD and transit value in combination? Thanks!

Maybe I’m getting older but I don’t remember it being so loud and seeing people covering their ears. I feel like the new cars are worse somehow, but I keep reading everyone that they’re better?

The past few times my Apple Watch recorded 102-103 dB. It’s insane.

The new BART fare gates have reduced fare evasion. However, fare evasion is still happening. Piggybacking (when a fare evader follows a fare payer through an open fare gate) has been a problem.

BART is currently testing a new method to stop this. It involves closing the fare gates more quickly. That can make it more difficult for piggybacking to occur.

The article discusses the possible changes that can reduce or eliminate piggybacking.

Let's hope that it works out.

There was also an article in the May 4, 2026 print edition of the San Francisco Chronicle titled "Can BART’s new speedy fare gates finally solve the ‘piggybacking’ problem?" It's available online, but it's behind a paywall.

What is the single most important rail expansion in the region? BART or SF or Bay Area