BART rolled out new fare gate tones on Monday to help riders navigate stations more easily. The new sounds are designed to be more pleasant and audible over background noise compared to the previous beeps. The update specifically aims to assist blind and low-vision riders in identifying when a gate has successfully opened.
To hear the new chime, a rider must hold their Clipper card, phone, or contactless bank card on the reader for one extra second. An ascending chime plays when entering a station, while a descending chime plays when exiting. This distinct sound helps users distinguish a successful scan from the error beeps that signify issues like insufficient funds. BART officials noted that the chime does not play automatically for every tap to avoid creating a confusing “cacophony” of noise within the station.
These audio improvements were made possible by the new fare gates installed across all stations in August 2025. Unlike the older gates, the technology can produce a wide range of musical tones. The specific chords used for the chimes were originally composed on a piano by Ryan Greene-Roesel, BART’s director of Customer Access and Accessibility, before being finalized by sound engineers.
The final sounds were selected after BART collected feedback from station agents, an online public survey, and the BART Accessibility Task Force.
Riders seeking more details on these features can find information at bart.gov/accessibility.
