BART Connects: A young woman from East Oakland says she "wouldn't be where I am today" without BART
Erica Mitchell pictured at Coliseum Station.
BART runs like a thread through every stage of Erica Mitchell’s existence. You might say the system map is a tapestry of her life, woven with memories that stretch from childhood to maturity.
Mitchell grew up in East Oakland near Coliseum Station. The trains that departed every which way from the station were “lifelines,” she said, that carried her to novel places, experiences, and possibilities.
“At different points in my life, BART has meant different things to me,” said Mitchell, now 27 and living in San Francisco. “I wouldn’t have been as independent as I was as a kid without BART; I wouldn’t have been able to survive here; and I wouldn’t be where I am today."
In high school, Mitchell said BART was a symbol of freedom and autonomy. Her school was located in Portola Valley, and every morning, Mitchell would ride to Fremont Station then catch a bus to campus. It was a schlep, but during the ride, she found time to think and dream about the life she wanted to have.
Then, as a student at Laney College, Mitchell would travel from her apartment in San Francisco to Lake Merritt Station and walk to campus. On these trips, she timed her makeup routine with the ride; if she hadn't finished applying mascara when the train reached West Oakland Station, she was behind schedule. When she wasn't doing her makeup, she'd stare out the windows and draw the scenes on the other side of the glass.
Before she graduated, Mitchell started working for the Oakland Mayor’s Office. To get to City Hall, she sometimes had to empty a water jug filled with coins in the hopes that she could scrape together enough change to buy her fare to 12th Street/Oakland Station.
Mitchell still takes BART to work. But she also uses it for fun: to get to dance class in the Mission District, to hit the town with friends, or to catch up with her mom back in East Oakland. Mitchell is a self-described “night owl,” and on late nights with pals, she frequently finds herself racing to catch the last BART train. “It’s very Cinderella and her carriage,” she said laughing.
Mitchell has long understood the importance of public transit to the Bay Area, thanks largely to her late father. Before she was born, Mitchell's dad retrieved the cash and coins deposited in BART fare machines. Later, he operated buses for AC Transit. His bus route drove past Mitchell's childhood home, and some days, she and her mom would meet him at the closest stop to give him snacks and hugs.
Those early exposures to public transportation left an impression on Mitchell. Among friends, she is known as the “#1 BART fan,” but she prefers to call herself a “BART babe.”
BART has also connected her to love, she revealed, squirming slightly. The story goes something like this: During her BART rides to Laney College, Mitchell began to notice the same person on her train each morning. Later, she started seeing him in some of her classes.
“I was excited to see him on BART every morning. When else are you going to have uninterrupted time with your crush?” she said. Eventually, Mitchell and her BART crush started dating – “It was a good time while it lasted,” she said with a laugh.
As Mitchell described the BART meet cute, a lightbulb went off in her head. “There should be a dating car – singles only,” she joked. “You could call it Trainder, like the train version of Tinder."
One cannot deny that BART facilitates meaningful connections, she continued in a more serious tone. When public transportation is at its best, she said, it lays the groundwork for an interconnected region, and “that’s conducive to love, to community, to relationships.”
“Transit teaches you how to be in community with others," she said. “And from those interactions, you can learn to be more accepting and curious.”
About the BART Connects Storytelling Series
The BART Connects storytelling series was launched in 2023 to showcase the real people who ride and rely on BART and illustrate the manifold ways the system affects their lives. You can follow the ongoing series at bart.gov/news.
The series grew out of BART's Role in the Region Study, which demonstrates BART’s importance to the Bay Area’s mobility, cultural diversity, environmental and economic sustainability. We conducted a call for stories to hear from our riders and understand what BART means to them. The call was publicized on our website, social media, email blasts, and flyering at stations. More than 300 riders responded, and a selection of respondents who opted-in were interviewed for the BART Connects series.