Thanks in part to big events like Outside Lands, and thanks to a new program that provides unlimited rides for UC Berkeley students, BART saw its ridership soar to a new post-pandemic record in August.

BART saw over 4.9 million riders in the month of August 2025, setting a new post-pandemic record. Average weekday ridership for the month was up 12.6% to 186,600 compared to August 2024; and weekend ridership was up arund 10%, likely thanks to events like the Grateful Dead anniversary shows in Golden Gate Park and Outside Lands.

BART also credits the launch of the tap-and-ride system, allowing customers to pay by credit card or with their phone instead of only through the Clipper system; and a new program launched in August, BayPass, that provides unlimited rides to UC Berkeley students — which alone accounted for 141,000 rides last month.

The Golden State Valkyries also played seven sold-out home games in August at the Chase Center, and the SF Giants played 15 homes games during the month.

"BART is thrilled to see ridership steadily growing as we continue to make strides in enhancing the system's overall safety, cleanliness, and customer experience," said BART spokesperson Michelle Robertson in a statement. "The ongoing increase in riders using our system is testament to the success of these efforts."

As NBC Bay Area reports, August was BART's highest ridership month since March of 2020, when pandemic lockdowns began. And this is encouraging news for BART's ongoing budget struggles, with ridership increases being key to keep BART from its "fiscal cliff."

BART's monthly ridership report shows that ridership was up 10.1% overall compared to the budgeted figure, exceeding the forecast total by almost 450,000 rides.

Still, changes to many workers' commuting habits since the pandemic continue to depress ridership numbers below their pre-pandemic highs. By comparison, August 2019 saw more than twice as many passenger exits as August 2025, with 10.1 million rides. And average weekday ridership six years ago was also more than twice what it was last month, at around 411,000.

Robertson noted that BART's ridership numbers have been bolstered by more nighttime and weekend use of the system.

"While people may not be going into the office as often as they used to, they are going to games, shows, museums, and other fun events that can only be experienced in person," Robertson said.

Photo by Derek Zhang