During the first quarter of 2025, the nine Bay Area transit agencies saw an increase in ridership, handling a combined 3.24 million more trips compared to January through March 2024.
“This growth in ridership is happening as transit agencies make major investments in improving the rider experience with an emphasis on boosting safety, cleanliness, and reliability,” Bob Powers, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) general manager, said. “BART hosts a weekly meeting with the transit leaders from each agency to coordinate on everything from preparing for Super Bowl 2026 and FIFA World Cup to better synching our schedules.”
The agency with the largest increase was Caltrain. It saw a 50 percent ridership increase. This has been attributed to the agency’s switch to an all-electric service.
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit had a 38 percent increase, San Francisco Bay Ferry had 21 percent, Golden Gate Ferry ridership had nearly 16 percent, Marin Transit had 10 percent, Petaluma Transit had 7 percent, BART had nearly 6.5 percent, Golden Gate Transit had 5 percent, and Muni had 4 percent.
Despite the increases, the agencies are still recovering from post-pandemic ridership declines.
The Bay Area’s transit agencies and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission are working to make transit more connected, efficient and user friendly.