BART'S OUTCOMES: AN EARLY APPRAISAL

After costing $1.6 billion, BART is now serving only 2% of all trips made in its 3-county district. The overall effect has been to leave highway congestion levels just about where they would have been anyway. Half the expected riders have chosen the convenience of private cars or buses that bring them close to their jobs over the luxurious but relatively inaccessible train. Fares are paying for only about a third of the annual operating costs, and even if ridership reaches the projected levels in another five years, increasing labor and other costs will continue to produce annual deficits. The initial decision to build BART was unfortunately not substantiated by accurate forecasts of patronage or revenues, and planners were covinced it could compete with the auto- dominated society and come out on top. Hopefully, other urban planning officials will learn from the lessons of BART, and not continue to make the same costly mistakes in providing the best in transit systems that technology has to offer.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Berkeley

  Institute of Transportation Studies Library
  Berkeley, CA  United States  94720
• Authors:
  • Webber, M M
• Publication Date: 1976-7

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 58 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fares; Operating costs; Rapid transit; Ridership; Traffic congestion
• Identifier Terms: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00141930
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 15 1982 12:00AM