TransportationLaura McCamy
- The San Francisco region's Bay Area Rapid Transit system rolled out the first 10 trains of its "Fleet of the Future" last year.
- The new trains will eventually completely replace the noisy, aging trains currently serving the Bay Area, many of which have been around since the 1970s.
- I rode on one of the new BART trains, and was impressed by how clean, spacious, and bike-friendly they were.
I first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1987. At the time, public Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were the pleasant and speedy way to get from my home in Noe Valley to the Financial District.
The seats were cushy and fabric-covered, the cars were carpeted, and the trains, unlike with San Francisco's Municipal Railway, ran on a predictable schedule. It was a first-class ride.
Over the years, the once cushy cars have become covered with a permanent layer of grime. It's no surprise, considering more than 400,000 people ride the BART system on an average weekday. That's equal to almost half the population of San Francisco.
Now, the fleet of shiny new cars that BART has ordered are arriving just in time.
In 2012, BART found a supplier to build a replacement fleet of 775 train cars, called the Fleet of the Future. The first 10 trains of this new fleet opened their doors to passengers in January 2018, and the full fleet will be up and running by 2023.
The new cars are quieter than the ones their replacing, and they boast redesigned seats and more passenger space. They also have a better system for boarding passengers in wheelchairs, parking bikes, and stowing luggage.
The first time I found myself on one of the Fleet of the Future trains, I was thrilled. BART's original fleet, which Duckworth referred to as "legacy cars," are 30 years old, on average. Imagine trading in your vintage Impala for a sleek new roadster and you'll get an idea of the feel of the new BART cars.
Here's what it's like to ride on San Francisco's newest public trains.