The next eight locations for BART’s new fare gates were announced Thursday by the transit operator, complete with backup options if infrastructure challenges arise.
The new gates, meant to deter fare evaders from riding for free on the cash-strapped network, have already appeared at West Oakland Station.
BART officials say kinks are being worked out there. For instance, there is a current lag of 1.2 seconds from when riders tap their Clipper cards to when the door opens, but the agency said the issue should be resolved in the next week. Otherwise, feedback has been mostly positive, BART said.
The next eight locations of the new gates are at the following stations:
- Civic Center in San Francisco
- Powell Street in San Francisco
- Montgomery Street in San Francisco
- 24th Street in San Francisco
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Fruitvale in Oakland
- Richmond
- Antioch
The backup locations are:
- 16th Street in San Francisco
- 12th Street in Oakland
- Downtown Berkeley
- Coliseum in Oakland
- Embarcadero in San Francisco
- Rockridge, Dublin/Pleasanton or Warm Springs
BART officials say the alternate stations will allow the operator to pivot quickly so it can redeploy resources and stay on schedule to deliver new gates to all stations by the end of 2025.
The new gates will be installed and operational at the stations sometime this spring. BART did not provide firm dates for the installation.
The new gates come as BART made it easier for cyclists to take bikes on trains and through stations with a rule change on Jan. 1.