BART recorded a combined total of 421,120 trips from Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 19, representing a 31 percent increase over the same three-day period the previous week.
The surge was driven by a weekend-long closure of eastbound Interstate 80 in San Francisco and favorable weather conditions. On Friday, the system saw a 16 percent increase in ridership, while both Saturday and Sunday experienced a 46 percent jump compared to the prior weekend, according to BART.
Last month, BART saw more riders than in any month since the pandemic began. The system recorded over 5.4 million trips, which is higher than the previous record set in October 2025, according to the transit agency. These numbers were 13 percent higher than expected and 20 percent higher than the same time last year.
The transit agency points to the increased ridership as evidence that the system remains a vital regional backbone even as it faces a projected $376 million budget deficit by 2027. BART officials are currently advocating for the passage of a regional sales tax measure on the November 2026 ballot to avoid what they describe as a “fiscal cliff” that could otherwise trigger massive service cuts and station closures.
