Announcements Recorded By Local Youth With Autism Playing In BART Stations For Autism Acceptance Month

This month, the voices of local youth on the autism spectrum can be heard in BART stations across the system in recognition of Autism Acceptance Month. The PA announcements will be mixed in with usual station announcements and play in more than twenty stations.

A sample of what your ears have in store: “Hi BART riders, I’m Zayn. I love BART because I can sit and relax and see everything that’s going on in the Bay. I hope you enjoy your trip!”

Thirteen-year-old mega-BART-fan Zayn was one of 17 Bay Area youth who came to BART Headquarters in March to record announcements as part of the Autism Transit Project. The project was founded in 2022 by Jonathan Trichter, who runs multiple schools for children with autism and neurological differences.

“Children on the spectrum often have a special affinity for trains,” Trichter said. “That is a well-documented phenomenon that is also well-known by transit workers and people at BART. They see it every day as these kids take their parents on joy rides or ask the operators questions so complicated they’re stumped.”

Language does not come easily to some children on the autism spectrum, Trichter said, so they sometimes grab onto phrases they hear frequently.

“That means the first sentence a child on the spectrum says might be, ‘Stand clear of the closing doors,’” Trichter explained. “So I put two and two together and came up with the idea to have these kids make their own public service announcements.”

This is BART’s third year participating in the Autism Transit Project. In addition to the recording sessions, which took place in BART’s professional studio, BART staff and board members joined in on the fun to talk about their jobs, including how to schedule trains, what it’s like to be a train operator; to show off some cool train parts, engineering devices, and BART uniforms; and to answer questions from the children, some more relevant to BART than others.

“What’s your star sign?” eighteen-year-old Lucy asked General Manager Bob Powers during his Q&A. She followed with a question about his favorite non-revenue vehicle (he chose BART’s Rail Inspection Vehicle).

Other BART celebrities joined in for the day, including BART Board President Mark Foley, who told the children, “I see you all, and I love you,” as well as BART Director Victor Flores, who spoke about the importance of community and supporting one another. BART Chief of Police Kevin Franklin was also on-hand to pass out junior officer badge stickers and to help kids try on BART uniforms.

One of the biggest celebrities of the day, however, was Pac-Man, the hardworking Harris hawk who is stationed at select BART stations to help mitigate pigeon presence. He arrived perched on the arm of his handler, Ricky, ready for his closeup.

Most of all, the day was an opportunity for children and their families to connect with one another.

“For the autism community, events like this help us to feel seen,” said BART employee Jennifer Tom, whose brother, Sam, recorded an announcement. “We can feel swallowed up sometimes [so this event] is really meaningful to me…I feel really blessed to be here today.”

Ten-year-old Bella recorded an announcement last year and couldn’t wait to come back to BART once more.

“This whole experience inspired her to be a radio DJ,” said her mom, Christelle Cicero-Lopez.

Hearing her announcement last year, said Bella, “was my dream come true.”

The participant’s name and stations where their announcement is playing are listed below.

A’lexius – Dublin

Bella – Bay Fair

Cameron – Coliseum / West Oakland

Careem – Rockridge / Lake Merritt

Eden – Lafayette

Ethan – SFO

Lucas – San Leandro / 19th St. / Embarcadero

Lucy – Glen Park / Warm Springs