437,200 riders following emergency Bay Bridge closure

Tuesday evening's emergency closure of the Bay Bridge resulted in the highest ridership day since train service began 37 years ago.

Yesterday, trains carried 437,200 customers - easily shattering the previous record of 405,400 riders set on September 8, 2008. Overall ridership yesterday was 90,800 or 26% higher than on an average Wednesday.

Also yesterday, 253,400 riders used BART to get between the East Bay and San Francisco. Transbay ridership was 87,500 or 53% higher than an average Wednesday.

TODAY'S TRANSBAY RIDERSHIP UP 60%
BART's transbay ridership this morning is up 60% as compared with a normal Thursday morning. Typically between the start of service and 10 a.m. BART would carry about 55,200 passengers between the East Bay and San Francisco. This morning, transbay ridership increased by 32,900 riders for a total of approximately 88,000 transbay riders.

Additionally, overall morning ridership was up 29%. That translates to 32,200 more passengers using BART. Typically, during a Thursday morning commute, BART would carry about 111,400 passengers systemwide. Today there was a total of 143,600 riders systemwide.

TODAY BART PROVIDING EXTRA SERVICE & LONGER TRAINS
During non-commute hours today, BART will run extra trains outside the normal BART schedule in order to provide additional transbay service for those traveling between San Francisco and the East Bay. Many trains will also be longer than normal throughout the day and into the evening commute. More information regarding BART's plans for this evening's commute will be provided at the 2:30 p.m. briefing.

SNAPSHOT OF HIGHEST RIDERSHIP DAYS
Below is a chart of the top 5 ridership days since BART began service on September 11, 1972.