BART shows major service reliability improvements with fewer delays

BART riders are experiencing far fewer delays, train breakdowns, and cancelled trips according to the agency’s latest Quarterly Performance Report (QPR).

Customer-On-Time Performance for FY 2023 Q4 (April-June 2023) was 91%, up more than 12% from the previous quarter (January-March). 

Cancelled trains due to staffing shortages improved significantly as BART has hired more train operators. Only 2% of trains were not dispatched during the quarter with June cancellations totaling just over 1% of all dispatches. The previous quarter had 5.27% missed dispatches. 

“Earlier this year, we vowed to address staffing shortages and to reduce the number of canceled trains by summer,” said BART’s General Manager Bob Powers. “The data shows BART has followed through on this commitment as we focus on improving the rider experience. Running clean and safe trains that are on time is the best way to rebuild ridership.”

Timed transfers for the quarter improved dramatically from 52% to 80% and are trending up. Timed transfers are an important part of the customer experience as riders seamlessly transfer from one train to another to get to their destination on time. When northbound trains don’t line up at 19th Street and southbound trains at MacArthur, it delays riders.

BART is working to make improvements on several other fronts, including doubling the presence of sworn officers on our trains, replacing every fare gate in the system with state-of-the-art units that will be much more effective at deterring fare evasion, and doubling the rate of deep cleaning for train cars. In addition, BART’s schedule will change on September 11 with a service plan aimed at increasing ridership with a 50% increase in service on nights and the end of 30-minute frequencies.  

The Quarterly Performance Report will be presented to the Board of Directors at the August 24th Board meeting.