Riders on Bay Area Rapid Transit have been paying 6.2 percent more since January 1, when the transit agency's board-approved increase took effect, per BART, November 20, 2025. The agency expects the change to bring in $15.6 million over the calendar year.
For a commuter from Oakland to downtown San Francisco, the math works out to roughly a quarter more per trip, with the exact amount depending on distance. The increase applies across the fare table, and discount programs for youth, seniors, and disabled riders scale proportionally. This article reports on transit policy.
Why BART raised fares
The agency calls this a less-than-inflation increase, a phrase it used in public outreach materials when surveying riders in the fall. BART's operating costs have risen faster than its two revenue sources, fares and a regional sales tax, while ridership remains far below pre-2020 levels.
The structural problem is larger than the fare increase. BART faces a projected $376 million deficit in fiscal year 27, per agency financial documents, after federal emergency relief that carried the system through the pandemic ran out. A fare increase generating $15.6 million closes a small fraction of that gap.
Related stories: San Jose's Budget Season Opens With a $35.6 Million Hole · San Diego's $119 Million Plan for Measure C Money Takes Shape.
What comes next for funding
BART leadership spent January making the case for a regional solution. On January 15, agency officials told reporters that 2026 would be the year of the regional transit funding push, referring to a proposed sales tax measure for the November 2026 ballot that would support BART, Muni, Caltrain, and other Bay Area operators, per ABC7, January 15, 2026.
That measure, if it qualifies and passes, is the difference between BART's current service plan and a fallback that agency planners have already drafted: service cuts, longer waits, and station closures concentrated on evenings and weekends.
How the increase compares
BART's fares remain among the highest in the country because the system charges by distance rather than a flat rate, and because its funding model relies on fares for a larger share of operating costs than most peers. A six percent step is smaller than recent increases in New York and Washington, but it lands on riders already facing parking and toll increases around the Bay.
What to watch
Whether the regional funding measure secures a place on the November ballot, and BART's fiscal year 27 budget decisions due this summer.