OAKLAND – Responding to a coronavirus-driven decline in ridership, BART on Monday announced it is effectively canceling every other weekday train until further notice.
Trains will run every 30 minutes starting Wednesday, the transit agency said in a news release.
BART expects to save $3 million to $7 million per month by shifting employees to capital improvement projects. The transit agency said it is “using this time of historically low ridership” to work on projects that are typically disruptive to riders or can only be completed overnight.
The reduction in service will also give BART the flexibility to keep running trains if employees need to take time off due to illness or to care for loved ones, the transit agency said.
“Ridership is now at 7 percent of what is usual, and these changes allow us to increase essential rebuilding projects while also ensuring we can provide reliable and predictable service,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “With so many unknowns about the length of the shelter in place orders and the timing of recovery, we must take steps to protect the operating budget while also protecting our ability to run service every 30 minutes.”
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