Bay Area Rapid Transit facts for kids
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a public train system in the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. It connects cities in the East Bay, like Oakland, with San Francisco. Building BART started in 1964, and the first trains began running in September 1972.
BART uses electric trains and has five main lines. Two of these lines only run during the week. The system has about 112 miles (180 km) of track and 46 stations. BART tracks are often underground in cities, or on raised bridges in suburban areas. Sometimes, they even run in the middle of freeways.
The busiest part of BART is the Transbay Tube. This is a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) tunnel that goes under the San Francisco Bay. Nearly 150,000 people travel through this tunnel every day!
Contents
How to Ride BART
To ride BART, you pay a fare that depends on how far you travel.
Buying Your Ticket
You used to buy paper tickets at the station. Now, most people use a special card called a Clipper card. You can add money to this card at machines in the station.
Entering and Exiting Stations
When you enter a station, you tap your Clipper card on a fare gate. The gate opens, and you walk through. After you finish your ride and leave the train, you tap your card again at the exit gate. The system then figures out how much your ride cost and takes the money from your card. If you enter and exit the same station, you will be charged a special "excursion fare."
BART's Growth and New Lines
Over the years, BART has grown to reach more places.
Connecting to Airports
In the 2000s, BART expanded to reach San Francisco International Airport. Later, in 2014, a short line opened to Oakland International Airport. This line uses trains pulled by cables.
New Train Technologies
BART has also added new types of train lines. In 2018, a line opened to Antioch. This line uses diesel trains on a different type of track than the main BART lines.
Future Plans
There are also plans to extend the southern main line into San Jose. This project will add even more stations to the BART system, making it easier for more people to travel around the Bay Area.
Images for kids
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A typical concrete viaduct structure near Walnut Creek station
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Inside an older BART train car
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Inside a newer BART train car
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Map of evening BART service
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AC Transit buses at San Leandro station
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An old BART paper ticket. (These tickets are no longer used.)
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Machines to get or add money to Clipper cards at Embarcadero station in San Francisco.
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An elevator fare gate at Embarcadero station, installed in December 2021.
See also
In Spanish: BART para niños
