BART to receive $270 million in additional federal funding to support service

Today, BART was notified we will receive $270.8 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Additional Assistance Grant Program. BART is receiving the second highest amount in the country, with New York’s MTA receiving the highest. The award recognizes BART’s unique reliance on fare revenue and the importance of the service BART provides to the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We want to thank our Congressional delegation for their support and advocacy for transit,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “The pandemic has made clear our operating funding model of relying so heavily on riders is outdated and hampers our efforts to provide equitable service, especially for low-income riders and marginalized communities. Increased federal funding allows BART to continue to invest in service improvements and safety enhancement as we welcome riders back to transit.”   

BART will play a vital role in the Bay Area’s recovery efforts. Pre-pandemic, BART carried more than twice the people per hour through the Transbay Tube than used the Bay Bridge.

BART has previously been allocated $1.3 billion in CARES Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

BART has used the federal funding to fully restore service hours, improve safety, enhance cleaning, and modernize equipment to make riding BART easier. View BART’s welcome back plan at bart.gov/welcomeback.