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BART Police is participating in National Night Out, a community-building event held on the first Tuesday in August every year. This year, BART Police will host two events, and BART employees and their families are invited to join in. The events will be held at Bay Fair and Millbrae stations and will feature games, music, food, and opportunities to interact with BART Police officers and staff.  

First introduced in 1984, National Night Out aims to enhance the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement. BART Police has participated in the campaign for over a decade.

Both events are from 4-7pm on Tuesday, August 6.

Bay Fair Station

15242 Hesperian Blvd, San Leandro

Hosted by Community Service Officer Susie Johnston 

Millbrae Station

200 North Rollins Rd, Millbrae

Hosted by Crisis Intervention Specialist Remberto Calero 

BART invites the public to join us to mark and celebrate the end of an era: the last run of BART’s legacy trains composed of rail cars that have been serving the Bay Area for more than half a century. We’re calling the event “Riding into History: Final Run of the First Fleet.”

The retirement ceremony will begin at 1pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Oakland’s MacArthur Station with the and final dispatch of legacy trains happening after the speeches. 

We recommend arriving around noon to enjoy the food trucks and activities we have planned. 

The ceremony will take place in the plaza (free area) of the MacArthur station and will include food trucks (bayareamunchiez.com and noodle-cone.com), activity tables, a raffle for legacy car number plates, a pop-up merch store, and a stamp rally. Bring your stamp rally passport if you have one. Many of the groups who are repurposing old BART cars for new uses will be in attendance to share information about their projects. 

Following the ceremony, the public will line up in the plaza and then board a legacy train and ride from MacArthur to Fremont Station, mirroring the initial service BART provided when it opened September 11, 1972. It’s a 45-minute trip that travels along approximately 24 miles of the original section of tracks. There will be more than one legacy train for the event. The trains will make all station stops and may turn around at Bay Fair depending on the number of attendees waiting to ride.

Every rider will need to pay for the ride with their Clipper card. The fare depends on where each rider is going after the ride. 

“These train cars are part of the history of the Bay Area,” said Bob Powers, BART General Manager. “While we are excited to modernize the system, we recognize the profound cultural importance of these cars, and we want to celebrate their rich history and give them a proper send off.”

BART is able to completely retire the legacy fleet thanks to the success of the Fleet of the Future project. Seven hundred six new Fleet of the Future train cars are now certified for service – that’s 30 more cars than the legacy fleet inventory. A total of 720 new cars are on BART property as of April 1, 2024, and twenty cars a month are now being delivered to BART – twice as many as when the new cars first began to be delivered to the Hayward test track in 2016. 

While the April 20 trip will be the final time the public will be able to ride the legacy fleet cars, it won’t be the last opportunity to spend time with the historic vehicles.

Three legacy cars will be headed to the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City for preservation and to provide a space for transit enthusiasts, researchers, and museum guests to enjoy and study for years to come. The three cars, including an iconic sloped-front A car, will be the only cars from the legacy fleet to be displayed at a museum.

A handful of other legacy cars will be transferred to those who successfully submitted proposals to repurpose the cars for short-term rentals, entertainment venues, and training facilities. 

Most of the legacy cars, however, have been recycled, so April 20 is the last chance to ride these historic cars. 

BART is launching an early morning service blitz to help Cal fans get to the first ever appearance of ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show in Berkeley this Saturday, October 5. BART will offer five trains with limited stops before our regular Saturday service begins at 6am. The special early service will get fans to Downtown Berkeley Station around 5am, before the start of the pregame show. 

The special early morning event trains will only serve the following stations:  Daly City, 16th Street Mission, Powell, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Fremont, Dublin/Pleasanton, Bay Fair, Fruitvale, El Cerrito del Norte, and MacArthur. These 12 stations in addition to Downtown Berkeley will be the only ones opened for the special early service. Full details on our added early morning service are available in the Trip Planner at BART.gov and on the official BART app.

The added early morning trains will go out of service once they complete their trips. Riders cannot board a train at Downtown Berkeley before regular Saturday service begins at 6am. 

The game against Miami kicks off at 7:30pm. BART will run longer 8-car trains on the Red and Orange lines as well as add several event trains to its normal service that night to accommodate the anticipated crowds.

Special Service Details

*A northbound Red Line train will leave Daly City at 4:19am and will make stops at 16th Street Mission, Powell, and MacArthur before arriving at Downtown Berkeley Station at 4:55am. 

*A southbound Orange Line train will leave El Cerrito del Norte at 4:47am and arrive at Downtown Berkeley Station at 4:55am. 

*A northbound Orange Line train will leave Fremont at 4:13am and will make stops at Bay Fair, Fruitvale, and MacArthur before arriving at Downtown Berkeley at 4:55am.

*A westbound Blue Line train will depart Dublin/Pleasanton at 4:08am and stop at Bay Fair at 4:25am where riders can then transfer to the northbound Orange Line train to Downtown Berkeley at 4:25am.

*A southbound Yellow Line train will depart Pleasant Hill at 4:25am and make stops at Walnut Creek and Orinda before arriving at MacArthur Station at 4:45am where riders can transfer to the northbound Orange Line train to Downtown Berkeley at 4:50am.

Tips

BART parking is free on Saturdays. People driving to BART to take the early trains should park at one of the stations being served. There is no BART parking available at 16th Street Mission and Powell stations.

Once on the platform, the added trains will be labelled as: “Limited Stops to Downtown Berkeley.”

Load your Clipper card in advance with enough funds for the round trip.

If you don’t have a Clipper card, add one for free ($3 savings) to your phone’s wallet in advance and use Google Pay or Apple Pay.

On the evening of Friday, July 19, 2024, BART will perform planned maintenance on the official BART app starting at around 3pm and lasting several hours. During the maintenance, the BART Trip Planner, real time train departures, service alerts, and the fare calculator will continue to be available on the app.  Parking payment features will not be available however parking is free after 3pm and on weekends and the maintenance will be complete in time for weekday riders. For those looking to reserve parking in advance during the maintenance window, they will get a prompt to try again on Saturday when the maintenance is complete. BART’s website for purchasing reserving parking will also be impacted during the same timeframe.

The profile and account setting features will also not be available on the app beginning at around 3pm on July 19, 2024, and lasting several hours.

Following the maintenance, app users will be prompted to update to the latest version of the app.

BART to OAK service will be undergoing planned maintenance on its trackway equipment beginning Wednesday, October 16 until Thursday, October 31. The work will begin at approximately 9pm each night and last until 7am each morning of the work period.  During the maintenance window of 9pm-7am, one track will remain in operation, and trains will arrive every 18 minutes, rather than every 9 minutes.  

This work is necessary preventative maintenance which will help ensure that the BART to OAK service remains safe and reliable. 

We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

In a first-of-its-kind in the United States partnership between a government transit system and a popular boba brand, BART is collaborating with Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea Northern California by featuring BART’s anime mascots on drink menu items and limited-edition collector cupsleeves as well as in-store photo spots. Collaborations between beverage brands and hit anime series and movies are wildly popular and BART is jumping in on the trend to engage new riders and promote BART to new audiences. 

The collaboration and cupsleeve giveaway will launch on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at four Yifang locations in the Bay Area all located within one mile of a BART station. The collaboration will last through the month of October or while supplies last. 

The exclusive cupsleeves feature four of BART’s Anime Mascots­— Baylee and her goat fan, Nimbus, Mira, and Jasmine enjoying fruit tea drinks, the BART logo, as well as Yifang’s logo. Yifang locations have paired special menu combinations with BART's Anime Mascots by matching their color palettes or character personalities.

The four locations include:

• University of California, Berkeley Yifang:  2516 Bancroft Way, Berkeley (near Downtown Berkeley BART Station)
• Colma Yifang: 4923 Junipero Serra Blvd, Colma (near Colma BART Station)
• San Francisco Chinatown Yifang: 870 Washington Street, San Francisco (near Montgomery BART Station)
• Walnut Creek: 1349 Locust St, Walnut Creek (Near Walnut Creek BART Station)

Planned pop-up events:

Inspired by fan events celebrating anime, gaming, and K-pop, BART is planning pop-up events at two Yifang locations featuring the BART Anime standees and special giveaways. For these planned events, anyone who comes in a full-body BART themed costume or BART Anime Mascot cosplay will receive a BART Anime sticker sheet with their cupsleeve, while supplies last.

• Wednesday, October 16th at the Berkeley Yifang location 3pm-6pm.
• Wednesday, October 30th at the Colma Yifang location 5pm-7pm. 

“As BART works to strengthen relationships with youth and young adults to increase ridership, this collaboration is meant to surprise and delight potential riders and offer an immersive consumer experience that appeals to anime fans,” said BART’s Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost who launched BART’s Anime Mascot Program to promote public transportation use, especially among youth riders, a growing and reliable ridership demographic. 

“This cross-promotional marketing opportunity is a way to celebrate our classic Taiwanese flavored drinks as well as BART’s anime mascots that were inspired not just by Bay Area culture but also transit systems in Taiwan which use anime mascots to connect with their communities,” said Alexus Lopez, Marketing Manager for Yifang NorCal. 

Yifang offers gourmet Taiwanese tea drinks at multiple locations across the Bay Area. Their most sought-out drink, Yifang Fruit Tea, uses home-made organic cane sugar, seasonal fresh fruits, and natural ingredients. 

Early Alert Canines service dogs on BART, from left to right: Scarlett with handler Alysia Santos, Handsome Ransom with handler Kathleen Fraser, Sheldon with puppy trainer Suzie Scher.  

See our DOs and DON’Ts for pets on BART below.  

TLDR: You may only bring a pet onboard and in stations if it is secured in an enclosed carrier made for the transport of animals. Animals on leashes are prohibited with the exception of trained service dogs. Service dogs are allowed off leash if their owners are unable to hold a leash and the animal is under voice command of their owner. Please contact BART's Access and Accessibility Department for more information. 

Service animals are defined by the American Disabilities Act as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Emotional support animals are not service animals and must be in a carrier when on BART. 

BART offers free BART rides for those training service animals on the system. Arrangements must be made with BART’s Customer Access Department beforehand.  

Read more about our pets on BART rules at bart.gov/pets. 

Kathleen Fraser and her service dog, Handsome Ransom, on the platform at Concord Station.  

Dogs are cute. But some dogs have jobs to do, including when they’re riding BART. 

Handsome Ransom is San Francisco resident Kathleen Fraser’s dog. He's got a big, goofy smile and soft black fur. Over that smooth coat, he wears a dark red vest with yellow embroidered text that reads: “Medical Alert Service Dog.” 

Many of us see a dog out in the world and our brains scream, CUTE CUTE CUTE, MUST PET PET PET. Ransom, like all dogs, can be distracted however, and unlike all dogs, he’s specially trained to save his handler’s life. 

“If you see me on a train, please ignore my dog,” Fraser said as a PSA to her fellow BART riders.  

Fraser has type 1 diabetes, a lifelong condition where her pancreas doesn’t make any insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels. This can lead to a series of complications, including but not limited to nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, seizures, and in the most tragic cases, death.  

In 2016 after a series of close calls, Fraser reached out to the Concord-based nonprofit Early Alert Canines in search of a service dog that would alert her when her blood sugar was dropping. The organization is one of a handful that trains medical alert dogs and connects them to people with type 1 diabetes. 

Early Alert paired Fraser with Handsome Ransom, who quickly became her best friend and most steadfast companion. Wherever Fraser goes, Handsome Ransom comes too, including on BART rides. He has to; without Ransom by her side, Fraser's blood sugar could fall, and she might not even realize it. Ransom can detect blood sugar crashes sooner than any modern medical device and often before the person recognizes the signs of an oncoming drop, such as sweating, shakiness, dizziness, anxiety, intense fatigue, etc. 

“Trained dogs pick up the scent of the chemicals your body releases when your blood sugar is dropping,” said Carol Edwards, the Executive Director of Early Alert Canines. 

“As soon as they smell those particles, they go, ‘There it is!’ and they alert their handler with a simple lift of their paw,” Edwards said. When a dog gives the alert, their handler can pause, look at the number on their glucose monitor, “and make an informed decision on what to do next before they get to that low state where one of the first things to go is cognitive ability." 

Service dog Scarlett correctly identifying a canister containing scent samples with a blood sugar level of 70mg/dL or lower at Early Alert Canines in Concord. 

The dogs are scent trained for around six weeks using a 12-arm scent wheel, with each arm ending with a small canister with a perforated lid (think spice shaker). The scent samples within are collected from individuals with type 1 diabetes experiencing a blood sugar level of 70 mg/dL or lower. Once the dogs are familiar with searching the scent wheel, they undergo a series of 500 double-blind trials. In these trials, neither the trainer nor the dog knows which canister contains the target scent. In all, the process takes around six weeks.  

Fraser said Ransom has alerted her thousands of times since they were first matched eight years ago. Sometimes, Ransom will give the alert more than a dozen times a day. 

“What I wish people would realize is that service dogs provide medical support that is just as important as a wheelchair or a white cane or hearing aid," Fraser said. "Yes, they are adorable, and yes, we all want to go up and squish them and all of that. But when they're out, they’re in work mode, and they need to be attending to their person.”  

Many don’t realize this because they just don’t know. And that’s exactly why Fraser is sharing her experiences, including some that are painful to remember.  

Fraser used to take transit to work in San Francisco all the time. But things became too challenging – and terrifying – when fellow passengers would consistently scold her for bringing a dog on transit or for using a seat reserved for disabled people in the front. Fraser often uses one of these seats as a safety measure for the dog because sitting against a wall limits the chances of someone trampling or stepping on him, thereby preventing him from doing his job. If the dog gets distracted or injured, it puts Fraser’s safety at risk. 

Handsome Ransom on BART between Kathleen Fraser’s legs in a seat against the wall.  

"There have been many times where I'm sitting in one of the reserved seats and the public, for one reason or another, starts yelling at me about ‘How dare I sit in that seat, when XYZ person should have that seat,’” she said.  

These encounters, on more than one occasion, spiraled into an “angry mob” situation, with people asking Fraser questions like: “What’s wrong with you? Why do you get to bring a dog on transit?”  

“We live in a world now where there are many ‘fake’ service dogs,” Fraser said. “People are sensitive about it in San Francisco because we have strong laws around emotional support animals and renting apartments.”  

"It's also complicated by the fact that my disability is somewhat invisible,” she added. “People say to me, ‘Well, you don’t look disabled,’ and I say, ‘What does disabled look like to you?’ Most people think ‘disabled’ refers to those with visible physical disabilities, but that’s not the case. And it’s caused me a heck of a lot of trouble.” According to multiple sources, the vast majority of disabilities are “invisible.”  

Type 1 diabetes is a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities in all areas of public life, including transportation. ADA defines service animals as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.  

Dogs whose sole functions are to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA, and Fraser wants to be very clear: Ransom's job is not providing emotional support. That's an added bonus. People with diabetes are two to three times more likely to have depression than those without diabetes, and “having a dog who loves you unconditionally helps with that,” Fraser said. 

From left to right: Scarlett with handler Alysia Santos, Sheldon with handler Suzie Scher, Handsome Ransom with handler Kathleen Fraser. Pictured in the unpaid area of Concord Station. 

When you encounter a person with a service dog, there are two questions you can ask. One, is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? And two, what work or task has the animal been trained to perform? People with service dogs do not have to disclose their disability. 

Because of her traumatic experiences, Fraser no longer takes transit, instead opting to drive three miles to her office and pay for an expensive parking spot. Sometimes, that’s the way it is when you’re maneuvering around a world that is not designed with a diverse spectrum of disabilities in mind.  

"This disability is vicious, it's volatile, it's unforgiving, it's cruel, and completely unpredictable,” Fraser said of type 1 diabetes. "There is research that says people with type 1 diabetes have to make 300 additional decisions a day just to stay alive.” 

Early Alert Canines makes a point to train their dogs on public transportation because the animals’ future handlers may use it back home.  

Suzie Scher (pictured on the right with Sheldon) is a volunteer puppy raiser, and she made sure her trainee pup, Sheldon, got some experience riding the trains. She recently took BART to Downtown Berkeley Station for a visit to the Ed Roberts Campus, a universally designed, transit-oriented campus that was created by disability organizations that share a common history in the Independent Living Movement of People with Disabilities. 

“I wanted to make sure he's been on BART before he’s paired with his handler,” she said. “These dogs can be placed with people anywhere in the country – they could be riding the Chicago L or the New York subway, and they need to be prepared.”  

There are many stimulants in a transit space – the click of the fare gates, the whoosh of a train pulling into the station – and puppy raisers like Scher ensure their dogs know what they’re getting into before they’re sent off to live with their owners.

Fraser said Ransom is a “champ on BART.” On a recent visit to Concord Station, Ransom serenely followed Fraser through the fare gate, walked up the stairs, and waited on the platform beside her until they got on a train. Onboard, Fraser found a seat against the wall, and Ransom deftly maneuvered himself underneath the seat, poking his head between the protective barrier of Fraser’s legs. He sat there serenely for the entirety of the ride.  

Fraser has a few asks for her fellow passengers. As mentioned earlier, do your best to ignore Handsome Ransom – that includes not making eye contact with him. She also asks that you consider giving up your seat for her and Ransom on a crowded train.  

“When we’re standing,” she said, “we have to put the dog between our legs and make sure the tail is not stepped on. We’re doing all this while holding onto the handrail, maybe holding onto a shopping bag or purse. It’s a lot to handle.”  

It’s also important to not eat on the train and in the paid area of the station, and not just because it's against BART’s rules. Even miniscule crumbs can pull a service dog away from his task. Afterall, they’re dogs, and when they’re paying attention to food on the floor, it means they’re not working.  

“I want him to have his full attention on his person, so if their levels change, he can alert them right away,” Edwards said. “I don’t want him distracted by a piece of dropped hamburger.” 

Kathleen Fraser and Handsome Ransom walk through the fare gates at Concord Station.  

Most importantly, Fraser asks that you follow BART’s pet policy. Pets are allowed on BART, but they must be properly secured in an enclosed carrier manufactured for pet transportation. In turn, that carrier must be kept off the seats and cleared from the aisle (keep service animals off the seats and out of the aisles, too). Pets on leashes are prohibited.  

If these policies are not followed, it puts people with disabilities in danger, as well as their fellow passengers. Bringing your pet on BART without a carrier is inviting interactions with potentially life-threatening consequences, whether it’s Ransom failing to alert Fraser of a blood sugar crash or a poorly behaved dog biting a passenger. A person found to be in violation of BART’s pet policy could be issued a citation and/or ejected from the system.  

So far, Fraser hasn’t had any problems on BART, but that doesn’t mean she’s not constantly calculating what could happen when she steps on a BART train or anywhere out in public for that matter.  

“If you bring your dog on BART and it behaves badly, people remember that bad experience. Then, when I get on BART with my service dog, they take it out on me,” she said. “It makes everything harder.”  

Added Scher: “Follow the rules, and if you won’t do it for humans, do it for the service dogs." 

Service dogs reposing on the platform as they wait for a train at Concord Station.  

The DOs and DONT’s of Pets on BART 

DO bring your non-service animal on BART in an enclosed carrier made for transporting pets. This includes not just trains, but stations as well.  

DON’T put the carrier on a seat or in the aisle and keep your service animal off the seats and out of the walkways.  

DO be considerate of fellow patrons who may have allergies or fears around certain animals.  

DON’T bring a leashed pet onboard (with the exception of trained service animals). Service dogs are allowed off leash if their owners are unable to hold a leash and the animal is under voice command of their owner. 

DO remember that not all disabilities are as visible as others.  

DON’T pet a service dog, offer it a treat, or distract it in other ways. Try not to acknowledge the animal at all (we know it’s hard).  

DO be aware that Station Agents can advise owners that their service animals may not enter a station if the animal is behaving in a way that may threaten other passengers.  

DON’T forget that BART Police may issue a citation and/or eject a person from BART if they are found to be in violation of BART’s pet rules.  

DO remove all food and trash from trains and deposit it in station receptacles to ensure service animals like Ransom don’t get distracted.  

DON’T ask a person what disability they have that enables them to have a service animal. Stick to these two questions: “Is this a service animal?” and “Is this animal working for you?”  

DO consider giving up your seat to a person with a service animal to make things easier for them.  

DON’T take service dogs on escalators, which could potentially pinch their paws. We recommend using the stairs or elevators. (This is a BART recommendation; California law does allow service dogs on escalators.) 

DO be aware that service dogs in training may accompany their disabled owners or authorized trainers on BART. No service animals in training, other than dogs, are allowed on BART on leash or harness. 

DON’T bring an emotional support pet on BART unless it is in an enclosed carrier. Emotional support pets are not service animals, per the ADA.  

DO reach out to BART’s Customer Access Department, which can arrange free BART rides for those training service animals on the system. 

A photo of the attendees who participated in the Girls in Motion Fall 2023 Summit, hosted at BART Headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo courtesy of Conner L’Hommedieu of Kimley-Horn. 

Transportation leaders from across the Bay Area came together recently to share their passion for transit and inspire young people to explore the industry as a potential career.  

On Thursday, Oct. 19, BART hosted the inaugural Girls in Motion Fall 2023 Summit, organized by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), California, Bay Bridge Chapter, and WTS San Fransico Bay Area Chapter, an international organization for women in transportation.  

“The summit was a great opportunity to collaborate with our external partners and provide a platform of exposure for high school girls and specifically those from marginalized communities,” said Cynthia Fields, Supervisor of Workforce Development at BART and a member of the summit planning committee. “We want Gen Z to have this level of awareness as they consider their futures. It’s important for our girls to see people who look like them in the workplace, especially powerful women.”

The standing-room only audience during the Girls in Motion Fall 2023 Summit, hosted at BART Headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo courtesy of Conner L’Hommedieu of Kimley-Horn. 

Dozens of young women, mostly high school students, attended the rousing summit in BART’s boardroom. Many attendees are participants of Girls Inc of Alameda County, located just a few blocks down the street from BART HQ. Girls Inc. previously visited BART in March of this year to learn about engineering on International Women’s Day.  

The focus for this event was even broader in scope, and many of the transportation leaders who spoke noted the expansiveness of the transit industry and how its workers come from a surprising diversity of professional backgrounds.  

“There are so many different fields in transportation,” said Tess Lengyel, Executive Director of the Alameda County Transportation Commission. “Transportation is not just one thing; there are attorneys, communications professionals, planners. The list goes on.”  

Lengyel spoke during the opening session, a panel with fellow transit executives Bob Powers, the General Manager of BART, and Beverly Greene, Executive Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Communications at AC Transit. Michele DiFrancia, President of ACEC-CA, Bay Bridge Chapter, moderated the inspiring conversation. 

Each executive espoused their passion for transit and some of the surprising delights of working in the industry.  

At the opening of the session, Powers cited some data points to get the girls fired up. Thirty-four percent of BART staff are eligible to retire, he said, stressing the need for more young people with fresh perspectives and ideas to join the industry. He also noted that 25% of the BART workforce are women or nonbinary.  

(From left to right): Beverly Greene, Executive Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Communications at AC Transit, Tess Lengyel, Executive Director of the Alameda County Transportation Commission, Bob Powers, General Manager of BART, and Michele DiFrancia, President of ACEC-CA, Bay Bridge Chapter, photographed during the Girls in Motion Fall 2023 Summit, hosted at BART Headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo courtesy of Conner L’Hommedieu of Kimley-Horn. 

“We have to do better as an agency to get that number up,” he said. “A job in transit pays well, has good benefits, and means something to the community. There’s so much opportunity in transit.” 

He also stressed the stability of the industry, which is often insulated from fluctuations in the economy. Layoffs, he pointed out, are rare in transportation compared to many other industries.  

Greene said she wasn’t even aware of transit as a career when she was in high school. Her advice to aspiring transit professionals was practical: Meet with your college counselor at least every other week and get involved with extracurriculars. She also shouted out the many women she’s had the opportunity to work with and learn from throughout her career. “And these women are running the agencies!” she said.  

A career tracks panel followed the discussion, featuring transportation professionals from a mix of fields, including, from BART, Alicia Trost (Chief Communications Officer), Sadie Graham (Director of Link21), Phoebe Cheng (Group Manager for Civil, Structural, and Track Engineering), and Ni Lee (Group Manager for Integration Engineering). Sarah Hersom, Vice President of HNTB and Jon Porterfield, Executive Vice President of Anser Advisory, also joined the discussion.  

“Working at BART is so exciting,” said Cheng. “You see it all, and it takes all kind of skillsets.  

Graham shared her unique background – she studied landscape architecture in college – and how her diverse experiences have served her in career. She also pointed out that after ten years of public service, your college loans are taken away. Graham herself said her loans were recently erased.  

Tera Stokes-Hankins, Chief Transportation Officer at BART, assists attendees in building popsicle stick bridges during the Girls in Motion Fall 2023 Summit, hosted at BART Headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo courtesy of Conner L’Hommedieu of Kimley-Horn. 

At the end of the discussion, the young women engaged in a team STEM bridge-building activity with popsicle sticks that put their science, technology, engineering, and math skills to the test. 

Arden Sorensen-Waod, a tenth grader at Piedmont High School, said she learned a lot of surprising facts at the summit.  

“I’m interested in urban planning and community service. Maybe transit, too?” she said. Her biggest takeaway was realizing that “you can start in one field and end up in another one.” She was also excited that so many efforts were being made in the industry to connect with a younger audience.  

As Powers noted during the panel: “Youth are the future of public transit. We want to hear your ideas – and we are listening and implementing them.”   

BART has many opportunities for young people to learn about the transportation industry, including a robust Summer Internship Program (info flyer here) and youth tours, a program that is slated to relaunch in the late fall of this year. For more information, email [email protected].