BART to start late-night service post-pandemic

BART will start late night service Thursday  but it will be on a limited basis.

It will only be offered three nights a week and passengers can only board at two stations in San Francisco.

The late night trains will only stop at designated stations: 16th Street Mission, Daly City, West Oakland, MacArthur, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito del Norte, and Bay Fair.

BART says those stations were chosen for being centrally located. 

 "People who rely on us can get home after work or after going out for a night on the town," says BART spokesman Jim Allison. 

Limited late night service will last for three weeks.

After that, midnight service returns Monday through Saturday on August 2. 

During Tuesday's evening commute at Embarcadero station, there was a steady stream of passengers.

But BART says ridership is only at 20% of what it was before the pandemic: 80,000 riders compared 414,000 on weekdays.

Still, passengers say they've noticed a steady increase.

 "Everyone is coming back. They need to be faster and it was really crowded this morning," says passenger Delia Coleman.

 "The waits are a little longer than I'd like. But it's still reasonable," says passenger Rafael Gavilanes,

 For the first time in the transit agency's history, it is offering a 50% discount to commuters for the month of September. It's an incentive for people to ride Bart again.

"The more public transportation that there can be, the better it is for everybody," passenger Rachel Kagan says, "People who need public transportation. Good for the city to bring more people in."