BART sets Saturday ridership record

229,314 riders on October 7?highest Saturday ridership in history

The numbers are in, and last Saturday, BART saw the highest ridership it's ever had for a Saturday in its 34-year history.

On Saturday, October 7, 2006, 229,314 people rode BART to attend Fleet Week in San Francisco and the Cal Bears game in Berkeley as well as other social activities. That's about 25% more people than BART had budgeted.

The previous record high was on February 11, 2006 when 218,393 people used BART to get to the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco.

"It certainly was a extraordinarily beautiful weekend for Fleet Week and the Cal Bears game," BART Board President Carole Ward Allen said. "Clearly riders decided it would be better to take BART than to waste a weekend of wonderful weather fighting gridlocked traffic while burning high priced gas only to be frustrated trying to find an expensive parking spot."

98% ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
To top it off, BART's passenger on-time performance was nearly 98% on Saturday. "Our goal is to maintain at least a 94% passenger on-time performance," said Ward Allen. "Being able to exceed the goal is icing on the cake for our riders."

"All of these wonderful events showcase how important a role BART plays in the daily lives of Bay Area residents," said BART Director James Fang. "It's also important to point out that we could never have achieved the 98% on-time performance without the efforts of our staff who worked tirelessly all weekend to make sure the huge crowds made it to their destinations on time. BART truly is an important piece of the fabric that is Bay Area life."