Around the Bay this Weekend: All Aboard Transit Day, special trains for A’s/Ed Sheeran, BARTable ways to observe Hispanic Heritage Month and Rosh Hashanah
Friday, Sept. 15 – We have some huge news to share: This week we’ve seen some of the highest ridership days since the start of the pandemic. On Wednesday, we hit a major milestone – the highest ridership day since spring 2020 with 192,961 rides! Tuesday followed close behind with 192,081 rides. The numbers don’t lie – riders are coming back to BART.
If it’s been a bit since you’ve been aboard, you’ll notice some changes in our system: cleaner trains and stations, additional safety presence walking trains, and a newly reimagined schedule that increases service on weeknights and weekends. Read BART’s new Safe and Clean Plan here.
On Sunday, we greeted another milestone; we said an informal farewell to our legacy trains as our new, Fleet of the Future trains take up the helm for our base schedule (you may see some legacy trains for extra event trains and emergency contingencies). If you didn’t get to a station on Sunday to wave goodbye to the last scheduled legacy train, don’t fret! We’ll hold a proper retirement ceremony in the future, likely next year.
Speaking of celebrations, this weekend marks the start of two holidays: Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) – a celebration of the contributions, histories, and cultures of Hispanic Americans – and Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 15 to 17), the Jewish New Year and start of the High Holy Days. Read BARTable’s articles on local ways to observe the holidays here and here.
The regional celebration of public transportation – Transit Month – is still fast underway as well. To learn more about two exciting events this weekend – All Aboard Transit Day and Meet the BART Anime Mascots – keep scrolling.
We’ve also scheduled special service and event trains for two big events this weekend – the Ed Sheeran concert and the Oakland A’s vs. Padres. Find more info below.
For an in-depth listing of local events, visit the BARTable website. We publish a weekly event roundup, BARTable This Weekend, that highlights happenings around the region as well as cool contests and sweepstakes from our partners.
Saturday, Sept. 16: Special late-night service added for Ed Sheeran concert
BART will run extra trains and offer special limited service after midnight for the Ed Sheeran concert at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.
Getting to Levi’s Stadium using transit is easy. Fans will transfer from BART at Milpitas Station to VTA’s Orange Line and ride to VTA’s Great America Station, located on the north side of Levi’s Stadium.
BART will have extra security and station staff to help people get around. Learn what you need to know to get home and read our traveling tips here.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Sept. 15, 16, and 17: Special event trains for Oakland Athletics vs. San Diego Padres at Oakland Coliseum
The Oakland A’s face rivals the San Diego Padres on Friday (6:40pm), Saturday (1:07pm), and Sunday (1:07pm) at the Coliseum. We’re expecting many riders to take BART, so we’ve added special event trains on Friday and Saturday to get fans home from the games.
The Friday game honors Roberto Clemente Day and will include a Latin Music Fireworks Show. The Saturday game will celebrate Latin and Hispanic Heritage Day, and Sunday will honor Make-A-Wish children and families.
Saturday, Sept. 16: All Aboard Transit Day and Meet the BART Anime Mascots at Powell Street
This Saturday, Sept. 16, is All Aboard Transit Day. On this day, we encourage people to take as many trips as their hearts desire to help us beat the September 2022 ridership record, which recorded 500,000 rides across all agencies! We'll total up the ridership numbers and report to the public if we exceed our previous record. Your rides on Saturday can be logged for the Transit Month Ride Contest, too.
Also on Saturday, Sept. 16, is our "Meet the BART Anime Mascots" event at Powell Street Station from 2pm to 6pm. Take photos with the mascots, make buttons with staff, grab a prize from the BART capsule ball machine, and more! Come in cosplay and get a rare BART anime charm. The Link21 outreach team will also table to talk about the project to build a second train crossing connecting Oakland and San Francisco.
Weekend Read: BART Board President and General Manager speak with Manny Yekutiel aboard moving train about future of Bay Area transit
On Friday, Sept. 8, around 65 people gathered in the concourse of 16th Street Mission Station to welcome their weekends aboard a BART train.
They were there to catch an evening train aboard which Manny Yekutiel, the owner of the San Francisco café Manny’s, would host a conversation with BART Board President Janice Li and General Manager Bob Powers about the future of Bay Area public transit. The gathering was a unique opportunity for BART leaders to hear directly from riders, and riders to hear from them. The ethos of the event: Why not hold such a conversation on the very trains in question?
Hear more from Manny, Li, and Powers -- as well as the riders who attended -- here.
Sweepstakes Spotlight: Win Tickets to See Manhattan Transfer at SFJAZZ
With the SFJAZZ season now upon us, enter to win tickets for you and your guest to see Manhattan Transfer on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:30pm. The Manhattan Transfer has kept the vocalese flame burning brightly for half a century. They will bring the curtain down on a monumental career with these performances at the SFJAZZ Center on Sep 29 and 30, as part of their final tour.
Click here to enter the sweepstakes by Monday, Sept. 18.
Happy Riding this Weekend!
We hope you enjoy your weekend adventures aboard our trains.
Stay in touch by signing up for the BARTable This Weekend newsletter on the BARTable website – your one-stop shop for all things accessible by BART. You can also keep up with BARTable on Facebook and Instagram.
BART General Manager Bob Powers pictured through a train window at West Oakland Station as the train made its way back to the East Bay following a conversation with Manny Yekutiel, BART Board President Janice Li, and Powers on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. Photo by Evan Dorsky.