View source for Bay Area Rapid Transit District

[[File:BART District.svg|thumb|A map of California, with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District highlighted in blue, non-member counties served by BART in yellow, and the former (unserved) member county, [[Marin County, California|Marin]], in red.]]
{{Bay Area Rapid Transit sidebar}}
The '''San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District''' (abbreviated '''BART''') is a [[special-purpose district]] body that governs the [[Bay Area Rapid Transit|Bay Area Rapid Transit system]] in the [[California]] counties of [[Alameda County, California|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]] and [[San Francisco County, California|San Francisco]]. The system itself also serves northern [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]] and [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]]; however, these counties have bought into the system and have neither a voting stake nor any representatives in the district proper.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2016 |title=Guide to California Government |url=http://www.smartvoter.org/gtg/ca/sf/dis/bart/ }}{{dead link|date=May 2024}}</ref> The District currently operates 50 stations, 817 rail cars, 131 miles of track (33.5 miles on [[elevated railway]], 65.1 miles of track [[level crossing|at-grade]] and 32.8 miles of subway track.) <ref>{{cite web |title=2022 BART Fact Sheet |url=https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/docs/BARTFacts2022.pdf |website=Bay Area Rapid Transit |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>

==History==
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (occasionally abbreviated in early years to BARTD) was created in 1957<ref>{{cite web|title=San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District|url=https://caltransit.org/about/50-years/member-profiles/san-francisco-bay-area-rapid-transit-district/|website=CalTransit.org|publisher=California Transit Association|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref> to provide a transit alternative between suburbs in the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]] and job centers in San Francisco's [[Financial District, San Francisco, California|Financial District]] as well as (to a lesser extent) those in [[Downtown Oakland, Oakland, California|Downtown Oakland]] and [[Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, California|Downtown Berkeley]].

Of the six Bay Area counties initially envisioned as participants—San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara—only Santa Clara County refused to join when the district was first set up; it originally included both San Mateo and [[Marin County, California|Marin]] counties. San Mateo opted out in 1962, preferring to utilize funds to build its [[freeway]] and expressway system.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Marin left a month after San Mateo, fearing that it would be unable to absorb its share of operating costs with San Mateo's withdrawal. Marin was also concerned by ongoing debate about the feasibility of running trains across a lower deck of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]].

==Expansion==
The [[Silicon Valley BART Extension]], managed by the [[Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority|VTA]], is a 6-mile extension of BART service to [[San Jose, CA|San Jose]] and [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]] in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]]. Phase I was completed with the opening of the [[Berryessa/North San José station]] in 2020, which is the first BART station in San Jose. Phase II includes the build-out to [[Little Portugal, San Jose|Little Portugal]] with the [[28th Street/Little Portugal station]], [[Downtown San Jose]] with the [[Downtown San José station]], [[San Jose Diridon station|Diridon station]], and into the City of Santa Clara with the [[Santa Clara Transit Center|Santa Clara station]].<ref>{{cite web |title=VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II |url=https://www.vta.org/projects/bart-sv/phase-ii |website=www.vta.org |date=January 2000 |language=en}}</ref> Construction and testing is expected to be completed 2028–2030.

==Governance==
The BART district is split into nine electorals districts, each of which elects one board member. The elections are staggered so that directors serve four year terms, with half the board up for election every two years. Odd-numbered districts (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) vote in [[United States presidential election|presidential election]] years, while even-numbered districts (2, 4, 6, and 8) vote in [[midterm election]] years.

One board member acts as president. The board members hire and fire five officers: the general manager, controller-treasurer, [[Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department|independent police auditor]], general counsel, and district secretary.

===Current board of directors===

{{As of|2022|11}}, the current board members are: 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! District<br />No.
! Board Member
! County(s)
! class="unsortable" | Stations
|-
|1
|Debora Allen
|Contra Costa
|Concord, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre, Walnut Creek
|-
|2
|Mark Foley
|Contra Costa
|North Concord/Martinez, Pittsburg/Bay Point
|-
|3
|Rebecca Saltzman (President) 
|Alameda / Contra Costa
|Bay Fair, Downtown Berkeley, El Cerrito del Norte (partial), El Cerrito Plaza (partial), North Berkeley, Orinda, Rockridge, San Leandro
|-
|4
|Robert Raburn
|Alameda
|Coliseum/Oakland Airport, Fruitvale, Lake Merritt, 12th Street/Oakland City Center, 19th Street/Oakland, MacArthur (partial)
|-
|5
|John McPartland
|Alameda
|Castro Valley, Dublin/Pleasanton, Hayward, West Dublin/Pleasanton
|-
|6
|Liz Ames
|Alameda
|Fremont, South Hayward, Union City
|-
|7
|[[Lateefah Simon]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cano |first=Ricardo |date=2022-06-10 |title=BART board Director Lateefah Simon moves to Emeryville, settling dispute over residency |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/BART-board-member-Lateefah-Simon-moves-to-17234354.php |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Alameda / Contra Costa / San Francisco
|Ashby, El Cerrito del Norte (partial), El Cerrito Plaza (partial), MacArthur (partial), Montgomery (partial), Richmond, West Oakland, Embarcadero (partial)
|-
|8
|Janice Li
|San Francisco
|Balboa Park (partial), Embarcadero (partial), Montgomery (partial)
|-
|9
|[[Bevan Dufty]]
|San Francisco
|16th Street Mission, 24th Street Mission, Glen Park, Civic Center, Powell Street, Balboa Park (partial)
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.bart.gov/about/bod/districts Electoral district boundaries]
{{Bay Area Rapid Transit|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bay Area Rapid Transit]]
[[Category:Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:1957 establishments in California]]