BART has installed Short Story Dispensers at some of its stations, including the Richmond station.
The touchless dispensers print out short stories for riders to read — for free.
The stories are short reads, roughly one to three to five minutes long, and are printed on recyclable receipt paper, according to BART.
Along with Richmond, the dispensers are installed at the Fruitvale and Pleasant Hill stations and a fourth was planned for Montgomery Station.
The one-year pilot program is a partnership with Short Edition, which makes the dispensers and curates the stories, according to BART.
Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola lauds the program — he uses one of the dispensers at his restaurant, Cafe Zoetrope, in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, according to BART.
“Once the pilot is running on all four stations, BART staff hopes to expand and create opportunities for Bay Area writers to be featured with their unique short stories and welcome back riders,” according to BART.
