Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) riders are experiencing far fewer delays, train breakdowns and cancelled trips, according to the agency’s latest Quarterly Performance Report (QPR).
According to the report, Customer-On-Time Performance for Fiscal Year 2023 Q4 (April-June 2023) was 91 percent, up more than 12 percent from the previous quarter (January-March).
Cancelled trains due to staffing shortages improved significantly, as BART has hired more train operators. Only two percent of trains were not dispatched during the quarter, with June cancellations totaling just over one percent of all dispatches. The previous quarter had 5.27 percent missed dispatches.
“Earlier this year, we vowed to address staffing shortages and to reduce the number of canceled trains by summer,” said BART’s General Manager Bob Powers. “The data shows BART has followed through on this commitment, as we focus on improving the rider experience. Running clean and safe trains that are on time is the best way to rebuild ridership.”
Timed transfers for the quarter improved dramatically from 52 percent to 80 percent and are trending up. Timed transfers are an important part of the customer experience, as riders seamlessly transfer from one train to another to get to their destination on time. When northbound trains don’t line up at 19th St. and southbound trains at MacArthur, it delays riders.
BART is working to make improvements on several other fronts, including doubling the presence of sworn officers on its trains, replacing every fare gate in the system with state-of-the-art units that will be much more effective at deterring fare evasion and doubling the rate of deep cleaning for train cars. In addition, BART’s schedule will change on Sept. 11 with a service plan aimed at increasing ridership with a 50 percent increase in service on nights and the end of 30-minute frequencies.
The QPR will be presented to the BART Board of Directors at the Aug. 24 board meeting.
