Editing Bay Area Rapid Transit (section)

=== Accessibility ===
All BART trains have dedicated spaces for wheelchair users and every station has accessible elevators.<ref name="Accessibility">{{Cite web |title=Wheelchair or Limited Mobility |url=https://www.bart.gov/guide/accessibility/mobility |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511054034/https://www.bart.gov/guide/accessibility/mobility |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District}}</ref> Estimated train arrival times and service announcements are both displayed on platform-level screens and announced audibly over the [[public address system]]. Station platforms are equipped with [[tactile paving]] to aid those with visual impairments, and [[Braille]]/tactile signs are present throughout stations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Low Vision or Blind {{!}} bart.gov |url=https://www.bart.gov/guide/accessibility/vision |access-date=May 10, 2021 |website=www.bart.gov}}</ref>

==== Platform elevators ====
[[File:Elevator faregate on Embarcadero BART platform.jpg|thumb|The elevator faregate on the [[Embarcadero station]] BART platform, installed in December 2021]]
At some stations, the elevator to the platform (which is inside the [[paid area]]) is accessed from an unpaid area of the station. To enter the BART system at one of these stations, passengers using the elevator must first pass through a faregate into the paid area and then exit back through the swing gate adjacent to the station agent booth before taking the elevator to the platform. To exit the system from one of these stations, passengers must do the reverse: take the elevator from the platform to the concourse level, enter the paid area through the swing gate, and then process their ticket at a faregate to exit the paid area once again. Station agents may be able to assist upon request.<ref name="Accessibility" /> The configuration of these stations enables [[fare evasion]] and causes confusion for passengers.<ref name="Moench 2020">{{Cite news |last=Moench |first=Mallory |date=December 7, 2020 |title=BART's new gate stopped some fare cheats this year. How will the agency pay for more? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-s-new-gate-stopped-some-fare-cheats-this-15777567.php |access-date=May 10, 2021 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

As of 2020, eighteen stations{{efn|[[12th Street Oakland City Center station|12th Street Oakland City Center]], [[19th Street Oakland station|19th Street Oakland]], [[Balboa Park station|Balboa Park]], [[Bay Fair station|Bay Fair]], [[Civic Center/UN Plaza station|Civic Center]], [[Oakland Coliseum station|Coliseum]], [[Concord station (BART)|Concord]], [[Downtown Berkeley station|Downtown Berkeley]], [[El Cerrito del Norte station|El Cerrito del Norte]], [[El Cerrito Plaza station|El Cerrito Plaza]], [[Embarcadero station|Embarcadero]], [[Montgomery station (BART)|Montgomery]], [[North Berkeley station|North Berkeley]], [[Orinda station|Orinda]], [[Powell Street station|Powell]], [[Rockridge station|Rockridge]], [[South Hayward station|South Hayward]], and [[Walnut Creek station|Walnut Creek]]}} had a platform elevator outside of the paid area.<ref name="New fare gates 2020">{{Cite web |date=December 3, 2020 |title=Next Generation Fare Gates Update |url=https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/docs/New%20Fare%20Gate%20Board%20Presentation%20Board%2012032020.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123075641/https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/docs/New%20Fare%20Gate%20Board%20Presentation%20Board%2012032020.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |access-date=May 12, 2021 |website=[[BART]]}}</ref> Of these, three stations{{efn|[[Oakland Coliseum station|Coliseum]], [[North Berkeley station|North Berkeley]], and [[Walnut Creek station|Walnut Creek]]}} had ticket processing machines near the elevators that allowed elevator users to avoid having to enter, then exit, then re-enter the paid area; however, these did nothing to deter fare evasion.<ref name="Accessibility" /> BART has begun to correct this issue at stations either by expanding the paid area on the concourse level or by installing a single accessible faregate in front of the elevator doors.<ref name="Moench 2020" /><ref name="New fare gates 2020" /> By December 2021, the number of stations with elevators outside the paid area had been reduced to eight.{{efn|[[19th Street Oakland station|19th Street Oakland]], [[Civic Center/UN Plaza station|Civic Center]], [[El Cerrito Plaza station|El Cerrito Plaza]], [[North Berkeley station|North Berkeley]], [[Orinda station|Orinda]], [[Powell Street station|Powell]], [[Rockridge station|Rockridge]], and [[Walnut Creek station|Walnut Creek]]}}<ref name="New fare gates 2022" /> Five of these stations{{efn|[[Civic Center/UN Plaza station|Civic Center]], [[El Cerrito Plaza station|El Cerrito Plaza]], [[North Berkeley station|North Berkeley]], [[Orinda station|Orinda]], and [[Walnut Creek station|Walnut Creek]]}} had elevator faregates installed by January 2023, while the paid area on the concourse level at {{bart|19th Street Oakland}} was expanded to include a new elevator as part of a larger renovation.<ref name="New fare gates 2022">{{Cite press release |title=New Embarcadero platform fare gate speeds up transfer to Muni, improves accessibility, reduces fare evasion |date=February 9, 2022 |publisher=San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District |url=https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2022/news20220209-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2016 |title=GO Uptown Gateway to Oakland Uptown: 2016 TIGER Grant Project Summary |url=https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2018-03-15%20Website%20Handout.pdf |publisher=San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 24, 2022 |title=Next Generation Fare Gates Update |url=https://bart.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10663025&GUID=B7D3ADE7-4576-4824-B81F-05A906613649 |access-date=March 21, 2022}}</ref> As of March 2023, only [[Orinda station|Orinda]] and [[Powell Street station|Powell Street]] stations have a platform elevator outside the paid area.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=New Fare Gates & Station Hardening {{!}} bart.gov |url=https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/fare-gate |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=www.bart.gov}}</ref> New elevator faregates are expected to be installed at these two remaining stations by April 2023.<ref name=":0" />