BART General Manager Grace Crunican announces pending retirement

Statement from BART General Manager Grace Crunican to the Board of Directors:

"Directors: 

It has been my honor to have served BART for nearly eight years. Today I am announcing my plans to retire from BART and to begin the next chapter in my life. 

This announcement has inspired many conflicted emotions - as you can imagine. 

Working closely with you, we have put in place essential elements which will help the Agency to thrive in the next decade. The entire rail car fleet is being replaced and expanded. The train control system, nearly 30% of the power system and billions in other infrastructure components are either scheduled or are being replaced. Under the leadership of Bob Powers, plans are developing to regularly measure ourselves against the best systems in the world. 

We have developed and are implementing policies that not only benefit BART but also deepen our community ties – including our small business program, with a first of its kind provision to incorporate members of the LGBTQ community, a commitment to affordable housing on BART property with our transit oriented development program, and a focus on workforce development to help us train and hire the best talent around. 

A capable, diverse and energetic team of new leaders is in place to take BART into the next decade. This team is joyful and bold and hard working. They are customer focused and have made operational changes that have translated into cleaner stations, almost universal Clipper Card usage, good relations with labor unions for several years and communication systems that stay ahead of our mobile customers, just to name a few. 

We have also established our performance management program and now have a new manager who will guide us to continued improvement through performance audits. 

All the above make me proud - and a bit sad - to announce that July 6 will be my last day here. Despite the challenges, and we all know that some days have been better than others, I am fortunate to have had this opportunity to serve you and the customers who rely on BART. 

Thank You"