BART expands station Wi-Fi program to four more stations
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) riders can now access free Wi-Fi at four more heavily travelled stations, offering a more seamless connection for riders.
The four stations that recently went live are 16th Street/Mission, 24th Street/Mission, Glen Park and Balboa Park. BART notes that the upgrade will help not only regular riders, but also help international visitors in the region to communicate without a U.S. roaming plan.
“Providing high-quality Wi-Fi is part of our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our riders and enhancing the customer experience through reliable connectivity,” said BART Assistant General Manager of Technology Ravi Misra.
This brings the total number of BART stations with free Wi-Fi to nine, following February’s launch at the first five stations—San Francisco International Airport, West Oakland, Embarcadero, Civic Center and Powell Street.
BART says this is a comprehensive digital transformation project that will bring state-of-the-art Wi-Fi connectivity to all BART stations over the next couple of years, followed by onboard connectivity on all BART trains.
The Wi-Fi is powered by Boldyn Networks. BART riders will access the SSID network named “BART Wi-Fi." Sessions on the network will last 20 minutes, and users will be required to confirm they are still actively using the network beyond 20 minutes.
“We are proud of our partnership with BART and the visible progress we’re making in connecting more tunnels and stations with our fiber, Wi-Fi and 5G technology,” said Boldyn Networks, US COO Dana Tardelli.
Benefits of the expanded Wi-Fi service include:
- Eases strain on cell network during high-density events.
- Phone network performance and battery perform better when connected to reliable Wi-Fi, especially in a congested area.
- Ensures riders can access route planning, digital fare payments and emergency communications.
Wi-Fi connectivity is expected to be deployed at BART’s remaining stations in phases, with full project completion by early 2028.