BART is turning unused parking into a new revenue stream, generating about $6 million since the pandemic by leasing underutilized spaces to local businesses.
To help offset a projected $376 million operating deficit by fiscal year 2027—largely driven by reduced ridership from remote work—the agency has begun renting select parking lots to non-BART users. Businesses can lease spaces for employee or fleet parking, and a new online portal now makes it easier to secure at least 25 spots for six months or longer.
The program is available at most stations with parking, though lots that typically fill on weekdays—such as Glen Park, MacArthur, Orinda, Rockridge, Walnut Creek and West Oakland—are excluded. Restrictions prohibit uses like long-term vehicle storage, residential parking or commercial operations, though some exceptions may be granted if renters take on maintenance responsibilities.
BART is also renting out parking lots and plazas for events, charging roughly $2,000 per day plus operating costs. Recent examples include the Bizerkeley Food Fest at North Berkeley and a recurring vintage market at Rockridge.
Officials say the effort is part of a broader push to find creative revenue sources while ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels. Long term, BART plans to redevelop many of its parking lots into housing through transit-oriented development projects at stations including Ashby, El Cerrito Plaza, Fremont, Lake Merritt, North Berkeley, Richmond, Walnut Creek, West Dublin and West Oakland.
I thought we were back to pre-pandemic ridership levels???? that’s what they spouted off about recently. Not against them leasing out unused spaces to generate revenue but stop crying about money lost due to low ridership… it is worn out.
Angry American,
.
BART ridership in 2025 was about 41.5% of what it was in 2019. Total passenger trips in 2019 was 135 million, while it was just under 56 million in 2025.
With decent upper management, they would have tried harder these past 5 years to keep expenditures for management and luxuries in real estate and total payroll in closer balance
with rate of income.
Pricing themselves right out of business and their jobs would serve them right.
So, are the parking lots that they are skipping for space rental all lined up for BART’s big Real Estate plans and ready-to-build high-rises on and over those same parking lots. Isn’t BART already obligated under several construction contracts?
Duh, should be doing stuff like this for a long time. The lots are mostly empty on weekends. Your a business, you have assets, use them to make money. Have the leaders of BART ever run a business before?
An even better idea is to shut it all down and make an incredible bike/walking/jogging/electric bike path on every BART right of way in the bay area. These fools have pissed on our legs and told us it was raining for the past 20 years, time to reap what has been sown. Fraud, grift, theft, mismanagement. This is the CA version of FA, and I sincerely hope they FO. How does everybody feel about paying their taxes this year? Will it go to BART, hospice providers, day care centers, autism charities, high speed trains, or animal crossings?
Now open for wedding receptions and Bar Mitzvahs. Book your little slice of asphalt heaven while parking spaces last!
Unused bart lot one block east of Monument Blvd where
Cowell Road ends has sat empty for YEARS. Has steel
fencing on it’s boundaries and would be perfect for
homeless. Would reduce costs of first responder calls
to existing encampments and would greatly reduce
cost of camp cleanups and hazards to persons doing
cleanups.
.
San Diego hepatitis outbreak began when homeless
population was rousted away from roadways leading
to baseball playoffs. Infections quickly moved north
cause expense to cities and counties.
.
bezerkly’s latest infectious outbreak might well be
traced back to removal of garbage dumpster last
June leading to garbage build up.
.
Of course, LAST thing I would expect from bart
is to be civically responsible.
How about open a gigantic mental health detention center and put them all in that location? Reagan hosed us when he shut down mental institutions. The homeless people do not want a home, they want drugs. They don’t want a leg up, they want a hand out (to buy drugs with). The lie that homeless people consist of working families that merely missed out on one paycheck is peddled for a reason. It’s not the truth. These are street addicts that don’t really care if they live or die as long as they can get their next fix. The sooner we treat them as mentally ill threats to civilization, the sooner EVERYBODY will have a better life. In the meantime, blowing the smugglers out of the water as they try to import more death is a great start.
A democrat controlled congress passed Community Mental
Health Act, last bill JFK signed into law Oct. 31, 1963.
After signed into law congress failed to follow thru with
yearly appropriations. Bill was democrat Knee Jerk reaction
to novel published 1962, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The “Blame it on RR” Democrats still passing the buck…it will never end.
*
https://brendonbeebe.substack.com/p/did-reagan-defund-mental-healthor
None other than Willie Brown said on a radio talk show that the state democrats had started closing the Nut Houses before Gov, Ray-Gun was even elected. Ken Kesey’s message in that book was Let the State Disintigrate.
whatever,
.
Original G is correct, the changes to mental health care began under President Kennedy, and not Governor Reagan. If you believe that Governor Reagan caused the problem, then you should also be telling us why Governor Brown, Governor Deukmejian, Governor Wilson, Governor Davis, Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Brown, and Governor Newsom haven’t “fixed” the problem over the last 51 years, by repealing the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act of 1967, so that we can return to the pre-1967 treatment for mental health issues, which you preferred.
You’re talking about my hood G. The last thing we need here is more homeless. Those encampments were cleared out long ago.
Not a fan of stack and pack either. Will be interesting to see what happens.
This is too little to late. BART should’ve done much more over the last 6 years to cut costs and increase revenue. I’m so tired of BART’s constant self promotion for doing now, what they should’ve done years ago. Every BART Boardmember should be voted out of office this year!!!
Nobody wants to pay to park their car and then pay again to ride a crime ridden hot mess.
BART has run itself so badly that it is now renting out parking spots intended for its riders? Unbelievable.