Bay Area Rapid Transit delivered on-time performance of 95% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, a record for the agency, while ridership grew 13.9% year over year to 16 million trips. Train delays fell 13% compared with the previous quarter, BART reported in its quarterly performance report covering April 1 through June 30, 2026.

Customer satisfaction reached 91.4% in the same period, the highest level BART has recorded since it began tracking the metric, up from 88.9% in the third quarter. Customer complaints declined 29% quarter over quarter.

Average weekday ridership hit 205,000, up 6% from the previous quarter, while weekend ridership grew 15% year over year. On Sept. 15, BART recorded its highest ridership day since the pandemic — 242,090 trips.

The agency ties the operational and ridership gains to a sustained decline in crime on the system. Crimes against riders per million trips fell 67% since the end of 2024. Safety-related delays dropped 47% over the same period, as fewer incidents meant fewer trains held up awaiting a police response.

All six of BART's safety key performance indicators met their targets in the fourth quarter, a 100% safety index the agency has not achieved since late 2018.

Fare evasion is trending the same way. The share of riders who reported seeing it fell to 9% this quarter, down from 10% the quarter before and well below the 25% high recorded in FY24. The decline coincides with the first full year of operation for BART's new fare gates, installed in September.

Riders rated the system above target across four categories: 4.2 out of 5 for onboard train conditions, 4.2 for rider information and support, 4.1 for inside station conditions and 4.0 for outside station conditions.

Trackside investment continues

The performance results come alongside continued infrastructure spending. During FY26, BART completed 98 miles of track grinding and surfacing, added three new substations and four portable substations — increasing power capacity between Colma and Downtown Oakland, California, by 30% — upgraded eight stations with new LED lighting and finished three station improvement projects.

A communications-based train control project now underway is expected to further reduce the customer impact of disruptions when incidents occur.

BART frames the quarter's results as the product of a sustained effort rather than a single strong period.

"Years of deliberate work have changed the baseline for what riders can expect from the BART system," said BART General Manager Bob Powers. "This is not a single strong quarter, but a continuation of a multi-year effort to make the system demonstrably safer and more reliable. A safe and clean BART is no longer an aspiration – it's what the data demonstrates, quarter after quarter."

The agency says rising ridership reflects growing rider confidence and strengthens the system financially. With the communications-based train control project and continued trackside upgrades in progress, BART expects further reductions in disruption impacts in the coming fiscal year.