A's final series sends BART above 200K daily riders for 1st time since pre-pandemic
BART breached the 200,000 daily rider mark earlier this week for the first time since the pre-pandemic era, partly boosted by fans of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, according to the transit agency.
BART's rider count on Tuesday was 204,265, including 7,286 riders who left the Coliseum station, according to a transit official.
"We've been getting closer to the 200,000 mark on weekdays every week this month, and now we've finally broken through," BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said in a statement. "With remote work trends shifting, it's encouraging to see numbers go up. And BART isn't just for work; we've seen more people riding the system to fun events and experiences."
This September, BART saw a 7 percent increase in ridership compared to the same month last year.
With the Athletics playing their final game ever at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday, BART was providing extra trains for the fans.
"From 2013 to 2023, excluding 2020 when Major League Baseball played games without fans in the ballpark, about two million riders used BART to get to the Coliseum. It's estimated about 14% of all Coliseum baseball fans took BART to the game over the past decade," BART said.
BART still expects the Coliseum station to remain a busy destination even after the Athletics' final game, with the Oakland Roots Sports Club scheduled to play at least 17 home matches at the Coliseum in 2025 as part of the club's United Soccer League season. Concerts and events at the Oakland Arena also remain a draw.
