BART saw more riders this March 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 busiest day for the transit system since the pandemic was March 25, when 227,300 people used BART — many to attend the San Francisco Giants’ opening game. This broke the previous record set just a few weeks earlier during Super Bowl LX events. For the first time in years, the average number of weekday trips rose above 200,000. Saturday travel also grew by 38 percent compared to last March as more people used the trains to reach parades, protests, and other weekend events.
Even though more people are riding the trains again, BART still faces a major financial problem. The money collected from fares is not enough to pay for all the services the system provides. Because many people now work from home or use a hybrid schedule, the agency expects a budget gap of $376 million for the 2027 fiscal year.
BART has already cut $35 million in costs for the current year to try to save money. However, transit officials say that higher ridership numbers will not be enough to fix the budget on their own. They believe the system needs a new and steady source of funding to keep running in the future. A half-cent sales tax measure for Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, called Connect Bay Area, is expected to appear on the November 2026 ballot to address the funding problems. The measure aims to provide a stable funding source for BART and other regional transit agencies like Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit. If approved by voters, the tax would last for 14 years and is estimated to generate approximately $980 million per year.
