Taxpayers Paying Nearly 90 Percent of BART’s Expenses Amid Agency’s Multibillion Dollar Deficits

A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passenger walks on an empty platform at the North Berkeley station in Berkeley, Calif., on March 15, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Budget documents presented at the Bay Area Rapid Transit—better known as BART—agency’s Dec. 7 board meeting revealed significant operating deficits and fees collected from users accounting for far less than money the agency receives from taxpayers.

Revenue from riders covers 10 percent of costs, according to calculations introduced by BART Director Debora Allen during the meeting.