BART sets ridership record - again
The race is on! Kind of fitting during World Series and election time to have this horse-race element to watching BART ridership numbers. Everybody seems to love lists and races and superlatives.
So, for you number-watchers, let it be noted that Thursday broke Wednesday's record for BART's highest-ridership day ever. On Thursday, the second full day of the Bay Bridge emergency closure, there were 442,000 riders. (Full story here on our main website). On Wednesday there were 437,200 riders, blasting past the previous record of 405,400, set on Sept. 8, 2008. That day in 2008 was a rather routine Monday. There were two pro sports games that night, Raiders and Giants, accounting for some riders. Another explanation suggested is that the economy was more robust and more people were working. But the bridge was open and a whole lot of people still rode BART. The next two highest-ridership days were for a scheduled Bay Bridge closure and a Spare the Air Day when there were free rides.
Spare the Air is probably safe in its position in the Top 5, because today is following the typical "Friday light" pattern of fewer riders than other weekdays, generally chalked up to people taking three-day weekends. Numbers are below Thursdays, although still higher than a typical Friday.
What does it all MEAN??? Well, it's great to see more new riders giving public transit a try, and BART is working hard to handle the extra load and give the newcomers (and regular riders) a good experience. See the latest story on our main website here for what we're doing. There have been a few problems and inconveniences along the way, but we've also seen reports of incredible patience and helpfulness among riders to each other. So, thank you for bearing with us. Send us your anecdotes at webadmin@bart.gov.
Image credit: Paolo Camera via Flickr.
