BART will run until midnight again four weeks earlier than planned

A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passenger rides in an empty train car on April 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. BART announced that it is slashing daily service as ridership falls dramatically due to the coronavirus shelter in place order.
A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passenger rides in an empty train car on April 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. BART announced that it is slashing daily service as ridership falls dramatically due to the coronavirus shelter in place order. Photo credit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

BART on Aug. 2 will return to near pre-pandemic service, four weeks earlier than previously planned.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said ridership fell to a low of 20,000 people on weekdays. That was down from a pre-COVID-19 ridership of about 400,000 passengers per weekday.

But riders are returning.

"We haven't seen a sudden jump in ridership," BART Media Relations Manager Jim Alison told KCBS Radio on Thursday. "We're seeing a steady increase, and we're seeing more than 80,000 people on weekdays now on our busiest days."

Starting on Aug. 2, weekday and Saturday service will run until midnight. Weekday trains will run every 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., while trains will run every 30 minutes between 8 and midnight.

BART originally planned to expand service on Aug. 30, but the agency said Thursday it was able to do so ahead of schedule after "working collaboratively with labor partners" to speed up hiring, training and shift sign-up processes.

Alison said service needs have changed because of options many riders now have.

"The work-from-home dynamic is certainly something we're going to have to wait and see how that plays out over the next months, and even years," he said. "Yes, we certainly think there are many people that once commuted five days a week on BART who will no longer be with us five days a week."

In an effort to provide safe late-night transportation for hospitality workers in San Francisco sooner than Aug. 2, BART will add late-night, limited trains leaving downtown Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights starting July 15.

Those trains will leave San Francisco's Civic Center and Embarcadero stations and stop at 16th St. Mission, Daly City, West Oakland, MacArthur, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito del Norte and Bay Fair stations.

The move isn't coming fast enough for everyone.

After criticism from team president Dave Kaval on Wednesday, the A's tweeted on Thursday they will suspend sales for Friday's game due to a lack of public transit.

The A's said 30,000 tickets have already been sold, and those who want to stay for the postgame fireworks show are encouraged to buy a parking pass.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images