Lynette Sweet describes how this transit authority has maintained high quality service by taking proactive rather than reactive measures.

After 35 years serving San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties in California, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) knows that its passengers value prompt, safe service above all else. According to Lynette Sweet, the president of BART’s board of directors—BART constantly strives to fulfill that need.

Sweet gave credit to a culture that promotes proactive rather than reactive measures. “We have implemented a training program that focuses on keeping operations so precise that we don’t run into safety issues.”

BART’s operations team works closely with its mechanics to identify the lifecycles of mechanical parts and replace them before problems occur. “We have a very detailed log of what needs to be replaced and a stockpile of replacements parts so we can act quickly,” Sweet said. BART recently completed a $1.2 billion renovation program that refurbished all 669 rail cars. In addition, BART replaced all of its faregates and fare machines, as well as all of its elevators and escalators—a project that took nearly 10 years to complete.

Lynette Sweet, President

That same year, BART approached voters with a $980 million bond initiative to be put toward the organization’s $1.3 billion Earthquake Safety Program. By 2015, BART will have retrofitted all of its elevated tracks and train stations and the famous Transbay Tube, a tunnel that runs underneath the San Francisco Bay and carries half of BART’s 350,000 daily riders.

Of course, not all issues can be addressed proactively, but Sweet makes sure BART responds quickly to customer concerns. For instance, BART was all ears when the community rebutted its request to post advertisements for alcoholic beverages on its trains and in its stations to earn additional revenue.

“Student groups poured into our board of directors meeting. We were only thinking from an financial standpoint—they were thinking about the health and safety of the community, and since we transport a large number of students, we abandoned our plan,” said Sweet.

Diversifying revenue
Like many mass transit organizations in recent years, BART has found creative ways of raising funds to keep the system in tip-top shape. According to Sweet, 60% of all fares are reinvested into the system, but it still isn’t enough to acquire much needed security devices and other high-tech modifications.

To diversify its revenue streams, BART has allotted 300 parking spaces at three stations and 200 spaces at a fourth so passengers can park their car for just $6 per day and fly out of San Francisco International Airport. Patrons can purchase a pass online and leave their vehicles at any of the designated stations. Sweet predicts the program will generate an additional $368,000 annually.

BART is also trying its hand in real estate with what Sweet calls transit-oriented development projects—otherwise known as “transit villages.” She explained that BART owns much of the land surrounding its train stations and was previously not putting it to good use. The organization realized it could not only increase ridership, but also generate more revenue, by transforming that land into villages, complete with homes, condominiums, apartment complexes, hotels, and office and retail space. “We are making BART more attractive to our riders by bringing them closer to us,” said Sweet, adding that BART has partnered with developers in long-term lease plans in which it will receive a percentage of the resale value of each unit.

BART completed construction of the first phase of the Fruitvale Transit Village located in Oakland in 2004 and has since developed several others, including Castro Valley and Hayward. It is currently constructing villages in Pleasant Hill, McArthur, and West Oakland. Sweet noted that the homes in the first phase of the recently completed Richmond Transit Village sold out within the first two days of opening. “The need for affordable housing is great here in the Bay Area, and we are now building phase two of Richmond. We’ll be cutting the ribbon in October,” she said.

Sweet is excited for the future of BART, especially with the University of BART scheduled to commence September 1 and a new general manager starting this fall.

According to Sweet, the University of BART was formed in reaction to employees’ desire to grow with the organization, “but there are so many levels of management and so many departments that they didn’t have a clear understanding how to do so. The university provides our employees with a road map to achieve their career goals.”

Organization-specific courses, such as maintenance and repair of BART trains, will be taught inhouse. BART has partnered with Laney College in Oakland to provide more general courses, such as computer and writing skills. “As a 35-year-old organization, many of our employees are nearing retirement, and we have a new wave of employees joining us who want to move around and learn new skills,” said Sweet, who will be enrolling in the program. “Several leaders are curious to see if we have what it takes to advance in the organization.”

Sweet is currently in the process of selecting a new general manager for BART. She and the board have narrowed the selection down to two candidates. “It is probably the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make here,” she said. “They are both dynamic and talented.” But no matter who the board selects during its next meeting, the appointment will make BART history: both candidates are female and neither is an engineer.

“Our selection demonstrates that the transportation industry is diversifying and is no longer choosing leaders based on technical skills. These two women not only understand transportation, they have outstanding people skills and know how to bring out the best in employees,” Sweet concluded.