BART explores late-night bus service options

The BART Board considered the late Friday Night Service Demonstration proposal at Thursday's regular Board meeting and decided to keep Saturday morning service intact. (To view details of the proposal go to the Board Agenda and Minutes page, click on "Agenda" for the Nov. 17, 2011, meeting, and go to the PDF attachment titled "Friday Night Board Presentation" at the bottom of the agenda.) The Board listened to customer concerns regarding the adverse impact revising Saturday service would have on their lives. After following this customer-focused process and considering the economic and racial impacts, the Board decided to keep Saturday morning service as it is and directed staff to study options for a late-night weekend bus system to complement BART service.

Study Shows Need for Saturday Service
Earlier this year, BART’s Board requested a study of extending service later on Friday night. Several options were examined and reported at its April 28, 2011 meeting. At that time it was noted that offering service later on Friday meant starting an hour later on Saturday in order for BART to conduct its overnight maintenance activities. The Board then directed staff to assess how extending Friday service and starting 20 minutes later on Saturday would impact passengers.

Resulting surveys indicated that 42% of those Saturday morning riders adversely impacted by the proposed service change were disproportionately low income (55%) minority (76%) and of limited English proficiency (23%).