BART TO OAK LINE A SMASHING SUCCESS

The sleek, elevated rail line connecting BART to Oakland International Airport (BART to OAK) recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. And what a year it’s been. The Bay Area Council was a chief advocate for building the line, and Council CEO Jim Wunderman served as the keynote speaker at the ceremony last year to launch the service. It opened to rave reviews from the public, and it hasn’t disappointed.

The BART to OAK line, which whisks passengers along a 3.2-mile track in about eight minutes, replaces bus service that bogged down in congestion. The faster, smoother service has helped increase ridership by 36.5 percent over the AirBART shuttle, reaching one million passenger trips in its first year. BART to OAK got a 99 percent approval rating from passengers and notched a 99.7 percent service availability rating. Not bad for a one year old.