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BART extends hours on New Year's Eve

BART helps revelers ring in 2008 by staying open three hours later than normal BART service normally ends around midnight, but on Monday, December 31, BART trains will continue to run until around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 1, 2008. Trains will run at their normal intervals during the extended hours. For

Sign up for BART email and wireless updates

New? Sign up now Returning? Manage your subscriptions Our email and wireless updates deliver important BART news directly to your desktop and wireless device. Sign up for only the topics that interest you: BART Service Advisories (also for your wireless device*) BART News BART Schedule Changes And much more

BART launches website www.bartlabornews.com

BART is pleased to announce the launch of its new website: www.bartlabornews.com. The site has been established to provide the latest information regarding contract negotiations between BART and its five unions. 2,841 employees are represented by these contract negotiations, and include: Service Employees

BART to improve customer access to Richmond Station

Today, the BART Board of Directors voted to allocate funds and leverage grants to improve customer access at its Richmond Station. Whether you walk, bus, bike or get dropped off at this station, once the project is done you’ll get there more efficiently and safely. BART will transform the outdated existing

BART to beef up train service October 1 and 2

BART will double length of some trains and add extra service During the weekend of October 1 and 2, BART will lengthen some trains and add extra train service to selected routes in order to get people across the Bay quickly instead of facing the agonizing traffic delays that will result from the planned Bay

Take BART to Oakland Chinatown Streetfest

If you've never explored Oakland's Chinatown, this weekend's Streetfest is a great opportunity to visit. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-24. It's free and easy to get to from BART's Oakland City Center/12th Street Station. This year's festival celebrates the Year of the

Role in the Region: BART is critical to the economy

A black banner with white text reading "BART's Role in the Region" with text underneath reading "BART is integral to the San Francisco Bay Area's travel, economy, climate, housing, equity, culture, health, sustainability and affordability.

In July, BART released the Role in the Region Report, a comprehensive study of BART's impact on the Bay Area illustrated by new analyses, data visualizations, and powerful personal narratives. Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing some of the key insights from the report in a series of Role in the Region articles here on bart.gov. Read the first article here. We encourage you to read the full report - click here - and visit the project webpage at bart.gov/roleintheregion

Today's post examines BART's impact on the regional economy. See the full report for methodology.

 


 

Fueled by unparalleled venture capital funding, a resilient technology sector, and a growing cluster of artificial intelligence (AI) companies, the Bay Area economy remains hot. BART provides access to a region at the leading edge of technological innovation and economic investment. Since 2021, the Bay Area has regularly attracted at least 50 percent of the total venture capital investment in innovative sectors such as information technology. 

San Francisco and the Peninsula

San Francisco continues to be a haven for innovative technology-focused businesses, and many firms cluster in BART-adjacent neighborhoods like South of Market and Hayes Valley.

Proximity to BART is a must-have for San Francisco’s downtown office market. Historically, office buildings near BART have outperformed non-BART accessible buildings based on market rents. Downtown San Francisco also has multiple “trophy” office buildings, which are commanding Downtown San Francisco’s highest rents and have the lowest vacancy rates. These buildings are all within a 15-minute walk of a BART station.

Top 15 San Francisco Office Buildings by Monthly Rent

Map of downtown San Francisco with colored lines indicating walking distances from BART stations. Notable buildings such as Transamerica, Embarcadero, and the Ferry Building are marked. The map also highlights 15-minute walking zones in purple shading. Sources include Jones Lang LaSalle, 2023, and Google Earth, 2023.

Along the Peninsula, mutual growth in development and BART ridership is expected. At Millbrae Station, the newly opened Gateway Transit Oriented Development has over 157,000 square feet of office space, ground floor retail, a 164-room hotel, and 400 residential units. At San Bruno Station, the Southline project is slated for occupancy by the end of 2024 and is made up of 2.8 million square feet of office and research and development space. The existing Tanforan Mall is also in the process of planning to transform into a transit-oriented mixed-use village with 2 million square feet of life science, 1,014 housing units, and 86,000 square feet of retail space.

The East Bay

The East Bay’s economy continues to uniquely leverage BART. Employment centers in the East Bay, which has the highest concentration of BART stations in the system, represent tremendous regional growth potential.

Emerging industries are choosing to locate in BART-served parts of the East Bay. These emerging industries include creative technology and design— like software publishing, data processing, and advanced manufacturing. In addition, there are emerging industry-specific job hubs for manufacturing in Fremont and wholesale trade in Union City. While most AI investment has gone to companies in San Francisco or the Peninsula, the East Bay has its own innovation industries, including biomedical device manufacturing, computer technology, food innovation, and clean tech. These industries and others have driven demand for almost one million square feet of R&D and manufacturing space in the last ten years and attracted $5.5 billion in venture capital in 2021.

East Bay Office Space Rent per Square Foot

Line graph showing the average hourly wages in various East Bay cities from 2013 to 2023. Cities include Oakland, Walnut Creek, Fremont, Antioch/Pittsburg, and an overall East Bay trend. Wages increased over time, peaking around 2020, with Oakland displaying the highest rates.

Many East Bay cities are responding to changing economic trends by adding jobs and housing. East Bay cities are leveraging access to BART to help shift market momentum towards their downtowns and prime infill locations. Demand and rents for East Bay commercial and industrial space remain high. Figure 2.9 shows that BART-served cities like Fremont and Walnut Creek continue to see increased rent for office space, and East Bay office rents have increased 59 percent overall since 2013. The East Bay industrial market continues to see high demand for warehouse and manufacturing space, with 11 consecutive quarters of net positive square footage leased as of 2023’s first quarter, with brokers and developers reporting an increased interest in transit accessibility for industrial tenants.

What BART Riders Say

When starting his own business, Raja Singh (pictured below with his son, Tyler) realized that transit would serve his employees’ well-being and morale. It also, as an added bonus, would serve his own interests and priorities as the head honcho. 

"People perceive going into the office as somewhat of a burden, and I thought it was important to make it as easy as possible for folks,” he said. “It’s more relaxing to get on BART and zone out or work than it is to navigate a tunnel and bridge then find parking downtown.” Raja would know – he's been commuting by BART for well over a decade. 

Raja also cited the recruitment benefits of headquartering his company by transit. They can enter the office, at 44 Montgomery Street, directly from the station, without having to step foot outside. Raja said nine of his employees live in the Bay Area and all of them commute by transit – seven take BART and two travel by Muni from their homes in the city. 

“Because we’re located at a transit hub, we can recruit from the East Bay, the South Bay, the Peninsula, and the city all at once, and it’s equally easy to get there,” he said “There's nowhere else in the Bay where you can say that. It gives you the broadest recruiting reach.” 

Read more about Raja here

Tyler and Raja Singh pictured commuting together on BART.

Take BART to Bay Area farmers markets

Savor summer's fresh, locally grown produce by visiting a farmers market. The Bay Area has a bounty of farmers markets just steps away from a BART station. Let yourself be tempted by the sights, smells and sounds of the season: a juicy peach; deep green bunches of fragrant herbs; sausages sizzling on a grill

Kaleidoscopic art posters debut across BART

Commute. Conjuring anxiety and frustration in equal parts, few words convey such loathing as commute. Between the traffic and crowding, our brains have few opportunities to relax as we travel from home to workplace—neither of which are guaranteed to be peaceful destinations! What can public transportation do

North Concord to Antioch BART Access Study

Final Report Available Download the completed North Concord to Antioch BART Access Study: North Concord to Antioch BART Access Study - 2018 (PDF) Appendices (PDF) Project Purpose Anticipating the opening of BART to Antioch, BART undertook a study to identify how access to stations in Eastern Contra Costa