The BART link to Oakland Airport is losing money and riders. (Photo: BART)
It was just two years ago that the Bay Area Rapid Transit system launched service on its Airport Connector line from Coliseum Station to Oakland Airport. But now the line is having money problems in the face of competition from ride-sharing companies.
According to the East Bay Times, figures from BART indicate that the Oakland Connector line is losing money and seeing its ridership decline – even though the airport’s passenger numbers are rising. Specifically, instead of meeting BART’s initial expectation of a $2 million profit on the Airport Connector during its first two years, the line has lost $860,000. And during the third quarter of this year, rider numbers fell 4.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
At the same time, the report noted, business on ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft and Wingz has tripled. The fact that airport passenger numbers grew by 6 percent while BART’s Airport Connector ridership has dropped indicates to airport officials that the ride-sharing companies are benefiting at the expense of the mass transit line.
Also, Oakland Airport makes driving to the airport more attractive by offering a variety of on-airport parking discounts and freebies based on your airline or destination. More on those here.
The AirBART station is located at the front door of Oakland International
There has been some speculation that BART’s $6 fare for a ride to OAK might be too expensive compared with the convenience of door-to-door ridesharing service. BART officials defend the service, noting that the airport line coves 96 percent of its operating costs with passenger fares, vs. 76 percent for the BART system overall. Still, they say BART will take a comprehensive look at its fare structure in 2017, not just for the Oakland Airport Connector but for the whole system.
New airline service is boosting OAK’s passenger numbers. Southwest Airlines has been building up more domestic routes out of Oakland Airport, and transatlantic travelers are seeing new low-cost options from Norwegian Air Shuttle, which keeps adding European routes at OAK. Norwegian’s inauguration of Oakland-London Gatwick flights earlier this year has drawn a competitive response from British Airways, which will fly the same route starting in March 2017.
Have you used the BART connector or flown to or from Oakland lately? How does it compare to other Bay Area airports? Please leave your comments below.
ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here
In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!
.
Don’t miss out! Join the 150,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!
NYC MTA subway or bus fare to Airtrain is a flat rate $2.75 on MetroCard and they are considering raising to $3. So the total cost to/from the JFK Airport is $7.75 each way.
I have used the service and was disappointed by the high fares and clunkiness of it. To me, it should cost far less than taking BART from SFO since that experience is far easier.
AC Transit #73 is still there for $2.00 each way with Clipper. Just add a few extra minutes for the transfer and save $8.00 on each round trip. It is a really easy service to use, just takes a little schlepping. I’d love to see AC Transit work on streamlining this service further to put more pressure on BART to be competitive.
Overall, I still think the best solution would have been a luxury rapid bus service from San Leandro BART.
um…actually it was a janitor…and he made $682,000 in 3 years working overtime cleaning stations. yeah…
I was simply saying that when you see a troubling sign, such as decreasing ridership, it’s prudent to study and understand what’s happening and why. It’s rarely wise to close your eyes and cover your ears and pretend like it’s not happening.
I’m with Rich on this one. Anyone critical of a 96% farebox recovery rate for any transportation system has unreasonable expectations. Most other public transit systems in the US run at under a 50% recovery rate, and even driver user fees cover less than 35% of roadway costs in California.
I’ve enjoyed my rides on the Oakland airport connector, although I also feel that it was a poor use of funding and that BART should have upgraded the AirBART bus service at a fraction of the cost instead. Since the connector was built, though, the $6 fare is the most responsible choice to ensure that the system covers most of its own cost without passing it on to other BART riders.
Rideshare services only remain competitive with public transit due to lax regulations and immense roadway infrastructure subsidies. Those things won’t last forever, so continued investments in transit are a wise choice.
Hopefully, it will be reassessed as an important component of the BART system, and not required to do any better than the systemwide average (which is pretty stellar). That would lover the fare a buck or so, and might get increased ridership.
Bingo!!!!
The bigger question is how sustainable are those low rideshare fares? If those go up, BART looks more attractive. 97% recovery for a transit line is remarkably high.
In NYC the JFK Airtrain is over $5, but arguably covers a longer distance, and your fare to the Airtrain from the city is only about $2.
Ridership is falling, despite the fact that airport is growing. That means there’s a problem somewhere. It’s prudent to pause and figure out what needs to change. Not just rest on your laurels. Otherwise, they’ll soon find out that 96% is no longer true.
Stuck-in-the-mud minds can only think inside the box. They can’t comprehend that THINGS CHANGE and that they must allow for that change. But diehard bureaucrats have never been about change anyway…much less success. Too busy circling the wagons and defending their own bureaucratic turf while begging for bigger and bigger budgets.
The $6 each way ride is too darn expensive but Bart needs ways to pay for its janitors’ $270K/ year salaries and all of their other inflated costs and salaries.
Getting to STL cost $2.50 by rail , while at the airport it’s $4.00 for a two hour pass. In D.C., Dulles ts still a $7.00 bus ride to the nearest Metro station. Denver, I believe is a $14.00 ticket ride into the city. The Chicago, New York and D.C. areas all have multiply systems that can be a real PIA.
What got me about the BART system is reading recently a worker made over $100,000 with OT. Now I know some employers and schools are providing free or reduce fairs, which probably provides a tax benefit and not sold at actual costs.
If it covers 96% of its costs then where is the problem? All transit is subsidized and a 96% farebox recovery ratio is in fact staggeringly high.
SF Muni fares cover about 23% of its costs, for instance.
I used to take BART from Caltrain to SFO every 2 weeks, but now I Uber instead. Uber is 15 minutes faster (than BART + Airtrain) and only $2 more expensive (because BART charges an airport surcharge). If I’m travelling with someone, then Uber is both cheaper and faster!
I like flying out of OAK and the Oakland Airport Connector makes it more convenient than the buses it used in the past. Note that it’s a $6 one-way base fare for the Oakland Airport Connector — fares from most BART stations to OAK ranges between $8 and $11.
I really love the BART connector. I worked at a company in Pleasanton for 2 years. I would fly into OAK every 2 weeks and take the BART connector and BART to the office. I didn’t rent a car in the entire 2 years. Now I have a job in SF, and rather than fly into SFO (horrible delays), I’ll continue to fly into OAK. The BART connector and then BART into SF is still pretty fast. Too bad they’re losing money…but they have to make it work.
I’ve used the BART connector a few times and thought it was great. However, when I travel with my wife she insists on driving from Berkeley and can usually figure out a way to get free parking. Because of this, I have shifted our travel to SFO where we “have to” take BART and also get free lounge access (not available at OAK yet).
Don’t worry, governor moonbeam’s giant high speed rail money pit will soon make people forget about this little BART boondoggle.