Though BART is only at 40% of pre-pandemic ridership, they’re looking toward the next phase of expanded service, and you can win a $100 Clipper Card by helping them figure out what riders want.

Your beloved Bay Area Rapid Transit system BART is still only at about 40% of pre-pandemic ridership. Even still, delays are worse than they’ve been in years. And you would think they have their hands full with this BART-to-San Jose expansion that is not opening until probably 2034 at the earliest.

But they are still looking at expanding service, particularly in evening hours, and this could be done shrewdly with existing infrastructure. That’s why KGO reports BART is considering a “sixth line” and expanding evening service, and they’re offering a rider survey to see what changes would best appeal to riders.

The BART expanded service survey seems to realize right off the bat that they might not even have the money to do this. As the survey says (emphasis theirs), “We developed two potential service concepts for the future, and we’d like to know what you think. (Note that these are just ideas right now, and BART would need additional funding to implement them.)"  But hey, the survey only takes five minutes, and you could win a $100 Clipper Card for taking it!

So OK, so sure, let’s start taking the survey. It starts by showing you a (“Pending funding availability”) new “sixth line” configuration for daytime service, with the sixth line represented in purple. “The new Purple Line would run from Richmond to Dublin/Pleasanton, and the modified Orange Line would run from Antioch to Santa Clara,” and BART explains.

The map does optimistically show the San Jose stations, which are such a distant dream they don’t really merit consideration here. But certainly the Purple Line and modified Orange Line are in play.

In terms of evening service, they’re proposing more frequent Red Line Richmond-Daly City service. Does that do anything for you? If so, take the survey, which will end in a few pages of bean-countery demographic questions about you, but these may be helpful for BART’s decision-making.

And while this is all contingent on additional funding, your answers may help BART get that funding. "A key part of getting that funding is having a clear roadmap and knowing what our riders want us to do," BART Spokesperson Chris Filippi tells KGO. "So this (survey) is an important step in that process. When we talk to lawmakers, this is something that they want to hear, they want to know that our riders are on board with this."

The survey remains available until Wednesday, November 23 (the day before Thanksgiving). All that said, do not hold your breath for any changes, as per KGO, they may not be implemented until 2030.

Related: It Is 2022 and BART Has Just Added Credit Payment Capability to Add Fare Machines [SFist]

Image: BART.gov