Hidden Tracks: Stories From Bart

BART’s base train schedule now consists of all new Fleet of the Future trains, a major milestone for a project that’s been more than a decade in the making. On our latest edition of “Hidden Tracks: Stories From BART,” Project Manager John Garnham reveals how fast the new cars speed along BART’s test track, explains why the process of building the outer shell is a bit like using a classic DIY toy and other insider nuggets. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2024/news20240109

On this edition of our podcast, "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART", we'll hear from Casey Unger, who is a Transportation Supervisor based in our Daly City Yard. As a Transportation Supervisor, Casey plays a critical role in BART's daily ability to implement its service plan. But before he got a promotion, Unger was a Train Operator and a very popular one known for his memorable announcements. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2023/news20231030

Not One More Girl is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at stopping gender-based violence and sexual harassment on public transportation. BART has been a partner in the campaign that first launched in April of 2021. Not One More Girl just launched its second phase, which places an emphasis on enabling people to have a greater sense of empowerment in a harassment situation. On this episode of Hidden Tracks, BART's Anna Duckworth speaks with Anyka Howard, founder and CEO of the Betti Ono Foundation, which partnered with the Unity Council's Latin X Mentorship and Achievement Program and BART for phase two of the Not One More Girl campaign. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2023/news20230927-0

On September 11, BART will roll out a reimagined service plan that will eliminate 30-minute wait times on nights and weekends. That means no BART rider will have to wait more than 20 minutes for a scheduled train no matter the hour or day of the week. This new schedule is responsive to post-pandemic commute patterns and opens new opportunities for BART to expand its ridership. To do a deep dive into the new schedule Jay Sathe sat down with BART’s Manager of Scheduling and Planning John FitzGibbon on the latest edition of our podcast series, "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART". Transcript available here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2023/news20230905

Mobility as a Service or MaaS is one of the hottest topics in public transportation. While the subject may be new for some, there's little question it impacts you every time you get on a BART train and its reach has potential to go even beyond that. Chris Filippi is your host for this episode of "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART" and he's joined by BART's Director of Technology, Angie West, and Tim Moore, BART's Manager of Web Services. Both are here to talk about MaaS and its far-reaching impacts. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2023/news20230426

This edition of "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART" features John Allen, who is a Transit Vehicle Mechanic at BART’s Hayward Maintenance Complex. John is BART's answer to MacGyver. In his time at BART, he's become an expert at keeping some of the oldest trains in the entire fleet in operation. We'll learn how he and his fellow mechanics use creativity, reverse engineering, and anything they can lay their hands on the Internet to keep these trains moving. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2022/news20221028

Changes coming in September will revolutionize BART’s schedule by adding a layer of consistency in the timing of trains across all 7 days of the week that will be unlike anything BART riders have experienced in the last 50 years. The latest edition of BART’s podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” explores what the schedule change means for you and takes an inside look at everything you’ve ever wanted to know about how the schedule is made. BART’s Manager of Scheduling and Planning John FitzGibbon explains how new software has transformed what used to be the transit equivalent of sausage making into a coordinated symphony that has the prospect to save valuable time for thousands of riders. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2022/news20220901-0

March is Women’s History Month so on this edition of “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” we’re profiling four of the female leaders of the agency. We’ll hear their stories of growing up, hear about the trajectories of their careers, their triumphs, challenges, how they define good leadership, and more. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2022/news20220325

BART has set an ambitious goal to get at least half of its power from renewable sources by 2025 but the Bay Area likely won’t have to wait that long. On the latest edition of our podcast series, “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” you’ll hear from BART Energy Manager Paul Bostrom who is spearheading the District’s clean power efforts. BART is well known for its impact on the Bay Area environment by taking thousands of cars off the roadways. The District is already greenhouse gas emission free. But now the focus is on increasing BART’s reliance on wind, solar, and hydroelectric power sources. Bostrom talks about BART’s progress and his recent visit to the Sky River Wind Farm, one of the District’s newest sources of energy. Innovative projects like the Sky River Wind Farm are expected to help BART increase its reliance on renewable energy from 5% to as much as 50% over the next year. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2021/news20211221

The first of 41 rebuilt escalators at downtown San Francisco BART stations is now open to the public at Powell Street Station. BART is making its largest investment in escalators in decades with a generational project that will have a direct impact on the everyday experience of thousands of riders. The latest edition of our podcast series “Hidden Tracks Stories from BART” features Mark Dana who is the manager of the Market Street Escalators Renovation Project. The new escalators are built especially for the challenges they'll face at BART and are a key part of the plan to revitalize the entrances to some of BART's busiest stations. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2021/news20210831-0

There are few people who can claim a career path like the one followed by Tamar Allen. Over a span that stretches across four decades Allen has worn many hats ranging from police officer to Assistant General Manager. Allen has played a critical role in some of the largest projects in BART’s history including the $3.5 billion Measure RR rebuilding program and the procurement of the Fleet of the Future. But Allen’s legacy will be largely defined by the systemic change and reforms she brought to the district. Those efforts helped to usher in a spirt of inclusion and respect at BART that opened the doors of opportunity for many current employees. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2021/news20210729

BART’s podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” is back just in time for national Transit Worker Appreciation Day. In our latest episode we’ll hear from John O’Connor who is one of the 287 employees participating in BART’s District Retirement Incentive Program as the agency cuts costs amid financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Connor is a transportation supervisor who has spent a quarter century at BART and is probably best known for saving the life of a man who fell into the tracks at the Coliseum Station after a Raiders game by pulling him back to the platform just as an oncoming train was arriving. O’Connor talks about his difficult decision to retire, his fond memories at BART, and the future of the agency as some of its most experienced employees depart. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2021/news20210317

From new platform signs to making the most out of millions of pieces of data, BART is going through an innovation revolution that’ll have a big impact on the rider experience. On the latest edition of “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” we’ll go into the lab to meet Wendy Wheeler who is BART’s Manager of Computer Systems Engineering. Wheeler is one of BART’s leading innovators and she’s pushing for some major changes. That’s especially true when it comes to BART’s digital platform signs. Upgrades have already been made to make it easier to tell if the next train is part of the Fleet of the Future but that’s just the beginning. Take a listen to learn about the technological advancements in the pipeline for BART riders. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200117

There are few images in the Bay Area that are more iconic than the BART system map. Millions of people see the maps throughout the system every year and regular riders can probably create a fairly accurate version of it from memory. On this edition of our podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART,” we're diving into the history of the BART map. There have only been a few versions of the BART map in the entire history of the system dating back to the start of service in 1972. Anytime there's been a suggestion for changes it has sparked a heated debate. Our guest on this episode is Bart Wright, a professional designer and mapping expert who has been heavily involved in designing the BART map over the last two decades. Read the podcast transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2019/news20190712-1

Rain can have a major impact on the Bay Area’s commute and BART is no exception. “Welcome to Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART.” On this edition of Hidden Tracks, we’re answering your questions about why BART so often faces delays when it rains. BART has a game plan to keep weather-related issues to a minimum that’s put into action by a team with decades of experience. Preparation and hard work are key. The effort began well before this winter’s storms arrived. Grounds crews worked for months to trim back trees and brush that could be threatened by powerful winds and rain. That effort has led to a sharp decline in the number of trackway obstructions compared with last winter. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2019/news20190226

On the latest edition of our podcast series "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART" we’re talking about all things cleaning with the two men who have been at the center of an important transformation that has taken place over the last year. BART is redoing the way it cleans its trains and stations. This far-reaching effort is having an impact on hiring, training, where employees are staffed, and even on what kind of cleaning materials are used on the job. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2019/news20190219

More BART riders than ever before can now ride the Fleet of the Future through the Transbay Tube. By mid-February, every transbay line will be served by a Fleet of the Future train. As more new cars arrive, BART is expanding its hands-on training for the operators who will run the new fleet. On the latest edition of our podcast series, “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” we’ll learn more about the preparation that goes into being a Fleet of the Future Train Operator. We’ll hear from one of the first graduates of the training program and learn what it’s like to operate one of BART’s newest trains. Read the transcript here: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2019/news20190116

BART has a robust video surveillance network. It includes working cameras on board all trains, in every station, and elsewhere throughout BART. But the reason BART police have been able to identify and arrest suspects in connection with several recent high-profile cases has as much to do with the technology as it does the people behind it. On this latest edition of our podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” you’ll hear from one of BPD’s Community Service Officers who specializes in finding key evidence contained on the video files recorded by BART’s cameras. She’s watched thousands of hours of surveillance and says it’s all worth it when it leads to an arrest that makes BART safer. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2018/news20180927-1

It takes a team effort to carry more than 413,000 riders on a typical weekday. On the latest edition of our podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” we meet Operations and Transportation Supervisor Phaethon Brown who oversees all station operations throughout the system. Brown has spent more than 17 years with BART including 13 as a Station Agent. He's one of the few people who has been assigned to every BART station. Those years of service on the front lines of customer service give Brown invaluable insight on how BART really works and what it takes to keep things moving during the commute. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2018/news20180711-1

BART has reached a milestone in its efforts to bring riders a quieter ride. Now more than half of BART’s train cars have been outfitted with an advanced wheel profile that reduces both noise and wear on the rail. On the latest edition of our podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” we’re focusing on the science of screech. The new wheel profile has been years in the making. One of our managing engineers talks in-depth about how the design was developed and what’s next for BART’s plan to bring a quieter ride to our passengers. Read the transcript: https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2018/news20180606