Fear of spreading the coronavirus may have caused a dip in ridership for at least one Bay Area transit agency, according to data released Tuesday by BART.
According to a spokesman for the agency, BART ridership from March 2 to March 5 was down 8 percent compared to ridership from Feb. 24 to 27.
Spokesman Jim Allison said BART officials are mulling how the agency could be affected financially in the coming weeks and months if the risk of contracting coronavirus increases.
February ridership data for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District is not yet available. However, an AC Transit spokesman said the agency has no immediate plans to alter its service due to the hardship the coronavirus could represent to East Bay residents.
“Although some Bay Area employers have asked their employees to work from home, we know that not all workers can perform their jobs remotely,” AC Transit spokesman Robert Lyles said in an emailed statement.
“We know that right now, many East Bay schools remain open and AC Transit bus lines are a primary means of transportation to schools. We also know that we are the primary mode of transportation for the elderly and persons with disabilities,” Lyles said.
While concern about the coronavirus’ communal spread have heightened as cases continue to pop up in counties around the Bay Area, local transit agencies have taken steps to improve their cleanliness such as disinfecting train cars, buses and transit stations more often and offering personal protective masks and gloves to employees.
Local jurisdictions have echoed state public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in calling for the cancellation of large public gatherings to keep the virus from spreading.
Several cities and counties have preemptively canceled their St. Patrick’s Day events, public meetings and, in the case of Santa Clara County, the public attendance of San Jose Sharks professional hockey games.
In addition, high schools and colleges around the Bay Area have closed their campuses or canceled in-person classes to prevent the virus’ spread.
As of Sunday, 114 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the state.
36 comments
For the fun of it I checked on Southwest flights from Oakland to Honolulu for Thurs returning Sunday. $227 round trip.
Yep, I had planned a trip to the Texas. From one week to the next, airline ticket price had dropped by about half…
I’m surprised BART ridership isn’t down even more. Not a good time to be riding BART, unless you absolutely have to.
I agree, but some people just simply can’t afford not go to work.
Bart should see a loss of ridership due to the filthy conditions of terminals and trains. Never mind the corona virus.
Reduced ridership is always a good reason to increase fares.
Or, perhaps a surcharge until the scare is over.
Bart won’t suffer from the reduced ridership but everyone else will.
BART has catered to the fair cheaters, homeless and entitlement crowd for years. I do not feel any sympathy for BART and their over paid management and employees.
Maybe this will finally send a clear message to the powers that be that normal people are fed up with all of this catering to those who do not follow the law or pay their fair (fare) share.
Personally I am sick and tired of paying for others getting a free ride literally and figuratively.
We did so on Measure J and on Prop 13. Wise up Sacramento Dems, Liberals and Nanny hand holders.
If ridership is down due to the COVID-19, why would this send a message to BART mgmt about people who aren’t following the law. The two situations have nothing to do with one another.
A completely fact -free rant
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BART has to train their employees to do something they haven’t done in 20 years -clean and sanitize trains and stations!
BART is the transpiration equivalent of PG&E.
Bart sucks!!! They have problem with ridership because of filth, gate jumpers ect. So they will blame on anything that they could. The managements are incompetent; train, booth stations operators are protected by union that they think they are untouchable. Last night, a train operator overshot the platform for Antioch bound train; it added another 15 minutes to my trip because I had to wait for the next one
Expect higher fares other than the automated ones we already have. Parking fees should go up also because of less cars in them.
By the way, isn’t getting people to work from home one of the goals to get cars off the roads?
Spoke with a friend last night and he said there was less crowding on the train, while another friend said the freeways was less crowded. Never let a crisis go to waste…was the aim of this one to harm our economy?
Bart’s ridership issues has much more to do with the poor management, filthy conditions, allowing gate jumpers, safety and violence problems. My family and most friends refuse to ride on this ridiculous system. It’s the worst I’ve seen anywhere..
We have a few virus cases in CCC. I would like to know from what city and where these people have been.
The virus is everywhere and EVERYONE will be exposed to it.
You cannot hide from it and no precautions will keep you from being exposed.
It’s time to realize this is like me catching a common cold now.
Friscodreamer If the people suffering from the virus are from say Berkeley it is less likely you will get it in Central or East Co.
The Wu-Flu is only one reason to avoid mass transit in general and BART in particular.
I saw an article today that the head of UCSF emergency came out and said people specifically should not be riding mass transit, like BART. My employer has been slow to let us work from home and it is incredibly frustrating when you consider Salesforce, Facebook, Twitter, Google and many others have already given the green light to their workers.
Yes, the cars have been emptier the past couple of days. Though I have yet to see anyone cleaning anything. What about putting Purel dispensers in the cars or in the stations? Simple stuff folks. Doesn’t take a stable genius.
People will empty dispensers into their personal containers in short order. I saw that in a restaurant last night.
Can confirm, the cars are as filthy as ever.
@Gittyup – Sex is a fairly normal and natural thing. People doing it on BART are doing their part to repopulate the planet after coronaviruses wipe 99% of us out…
As this started in China I’ll quote a fortune cookie – A whole hog is better than no hog at all.
I haven’t been on BART since 03.03 for two reasons. 1. Several of my SF events canceled 2. My kids asked me to drive to Berkeley from Concord to attend the children’s event because they didn’t want their daughter on the car with dirty people and their germs.
The person with whom I am attending an event tonight has many health issues. To protect her, I am driving to/from SF.
A couple of years ago, a BART spokesperson attended a meeting at our invitation. The members of the group were mostly over 60 years of age and world-travelers. We ALL told her that we feel the sanitation issues are the fault of the passengers. We don’t see people in other countries with their feet on the seats, eating, leaving trash, urinating, etcetera.
On 03.03 when I rode home to Concord from San Francisco, a very filthy man walked through the cars, tipped the seat cushions–I assume to search for change–and left the cushions on the floors that were already dirty from discarded take-out food and drink containers
What seat cushions? There are no seat cushions on BART.
Oh dear, with low ridershp they will undoubtedly need to raise the cost of fares.
If, only if….companies were smarter and let their employees work from home at least 3 days per week. It shouldn’t take a coronavirus to alert many companies that showing up to the office is highly inefficient, especially when traveling while using BART is involved.
How many meetings do I nearly miss because of the BART delays in the morning? Or how meetings are cut short because some local vagrant starts yelling at patrons? Worse yet, is having to leave the office early just to get a standing spot on the 4:30 pm train.
WFH allows me to start the day at 7 AM, attend meetings on time, and keep working through the evening without dealing with the local smellies on our beloved commuter system.
BART was a germ- and virus-filled tube well before Covid-19.
BART is the bay area’s social sewer system.
The reason BART ridership is not down more is that the people who ride BART have no other choice.
I had a couple of terrible dangerous experiences on BART. It was bad enough and now with this pandemic we are really asking for trouble if we ride on that germ infested system. Stay outa there!!
Morons!! Just act like adults and wash your hands before you lick the chicken grease and ranch off of your fingers!
It’s so simple, yet so foreign. Soap and water.
And the leather straps that hang down for passengers to hold on to. How germ ridden must they be. Hard to sanitize a Bart leather strap. I would rather fall than touch that. Terrible thought.
Funny how people always blame the frontline workers. They have had all their powers taken away from them by the Board of Directors that fear making the crazy liberals unhappy. The frontline employees will be disciplined if they stop fare evaders etc. If you actually stop to talk to a Train Operator or Station Agent ask them how miserable it is for them to ignore the mess BART has become. The only people you can blame is the ones that keep electing the same idiots on the BOARD. Two of which are completely on the side of the fare evaders. The front line employees are scared and feel unsafe just like the riders.
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