BART Ridership on the Rise

If you're looking for a BART station that's relatively empty, head over to Castro Valley.

If you don't mind crowds, you'll enjoy the transit agency's stations in San Leandro.

If you want to be sure of finding a seat, then drive over to the station.

Those are some of the insights that can be drawn from the latest figures released by BART on its ridership.

The report shows the average weekday ridership in February was 346,000 people. That's up 4 percent from a year ago.

BART spokesman Linton Johnson said the improving economy was the No. 1 reason for the increase, although the rising price of gasoline also is a factor.

Not surprisingly, the busiest stations are in San Francisco. The Embarcadero and Montgomery stops both have more than 30,000 people entering and more than 30,000 people exiting on an average weekday.

Berkeley and Oakland also are busy. The downtown Berkeley station has more than 11,000 people entering and 11,000 exiting on a given day. The 12th Street station in Oakland sees more than 12,000 people coming and 12,000 going.

The busiest station outside Oakland on the I-580 corridor is the Dublin/Pleasanton station. On an average workday, that station will see more than 7,400 riders entering and exiting.

Johnson said there are a number of reasons for the high ridership. One is the station is in the middle of a population center. It also rests along a busy freeway on which drivers face a long commute.

"It's capturing a lot of people who don't want to sit in traffic, burning gas," said Johnson.

He also noted the Dublin/Pleasanton station is the end of a BART line. That means people usually can get a seat on a train. There also is sufficient parking there.

It's similar to the Bay Point station in eastern Contra Costa County that gets 12,000 patrons walking through its gates on an average weekday morning.

Another busy area is San Leandro. Its downtown station and the station near Bayfair Mall each get more than 5,000 riders on an average weekday.

Johnson said those stations are near neighborhoods in which people can walk to the platforms.

"It's very walkable," he said. "It's a lot like Rockridge, which also gets a lot of traffic."

The Walnut Creek BART station has similar numbers. That station with a decent size parking garage receives almost 6,000 riders on weekdays.

Johnson said that station benefits from being at the intersection of Interstate 680 and Highway 24.

The Union City stop isn't quite as busy, about 3,800 riders on weekdays. The nearby Fremont station receives about 7,300 people each way.

The Castro Valley station has even fewer riders. It averages riders on weekdays.

And those numbers could drop with the opening last month of the West Dublin/Pleasanton station.

So where are all these people going?

Not surprising, most are headed to the major job centers of San Francisco and Oakland, but there are some interesting trends among all the stations.

Of the 7,400 people who enter the Dublin/Pleasanton station, about 4,700 exit at one of the San Francisco BART stations. An additional 1,200 get off in Oakland.

Four hundred Dublin riders take the train to San Leandro while 150 or so ride all the way to Berkeley. A similar number make the short trip to Castro Valley.

Of the 10,000 patrons who get on San Leandro trains, nearly 4,000 ride to a San Francisco station and 2,400 depart in Oakland.

About 500 San Leandro customers ride to Fremont while 300 or so go to Berkeley. About 100 ride between the city's two stations, most probably going to and from the Bayfair shopping center.

Walnut Creek patrons are more evenly distributed along the lines. Of the 6,000 riders there, about 1,100 head to San Francisco and 900 go to Oakland.

About 300 Walnut Creek customers go to Concord while 130 or so switch trains and get off in Berkeley.

Union City riders are also dispersed over the BART system. Of the 3,800 riders there, about 1,700 exit in San Francisco and 500-plus depart in Oakland.

About 200 Union City patrons ride to each of the stations in San Leandro, Hayward and Fremont. An additional 150 trek to Berkeley.

An average of 10 ride to Rockridge. That's the same number of people who enter at Union City, ride the trains and then return to that station.

Of the 2,400 Castro Valley riders, about 1,500 travel to San Francisco.  Four hundred go to Oakland and only about 50 take the train to Berkeley.