Baggu reopened in San Francisco with unsanctioned BART merch.

When I learned of this the night before their store opening. I knew exactly what needed to be done and who to call. Thank you @renzaro.com

This was a good time.

Bill deadline day!!! SB 63 (the Bay Area Transit funding bill) will need to go to the Assembly floor, Senate Transportation Committee where BART will provide lead testimony, then the Senate Floor.

California transit loan bill watch. 🚨 SB 105 🚨 Despite some misleading headlines there is now legislation that expresses everyone’s intention to work out the terms of a state loan for transit agencies such as BART.

Our goal was to host local families from the neighborhood surrounding the Concord Station. Building community though local engagement. When I saw families arriving with kids in wagons and strollers I was overjoyed. They didn’t need a car to attend. They walked over.

I’m leaning into fandom culture as a communication, engagement and public relations strategy.

The time has arrived. @rebeccaforec.bsky.social do you remember when you tried to help me allow us to publish videos of each BART line from the train operator point of view? We finally did it and plan to screen the video this Saturday at Concord Station.

Bus and light rail have recovered better than the major commuter trains, and weekends offer a glimmer of hope across systems.

Pocket-sized vehicles? 🚇🚆🚈⛴🚍 #TransLink rolls out its first-ever public transit trading cards, featuring 5 iconic transit vehicles. 800 free starter packs will be given away on Friday at Waterfront Station. dailyhive.com/vancouver/tr...

The hustle is real. In the next two weeks, we are hosting three press conferences and one huge weekend community event. Transit is about building community and this level of engagement is necessary to capture attention and bring joy during uncertain times.

Embrace the fun when it is not threatening. Brands (especially in the public sector) need to be given permission to be authentic and engaging. Rules are important but there is a way to respond to something without immediately leading with enforcement.

Something I am very proud of.

All 5 lines plus OAK! Don’t miss this big screen opportunity.

Come join me under the stars to watch our video of all the BART lines sped up….and on the big screen. Plus we will be selling a new cozy BART system map blanket!

Burying the lede here, the sweaters are cool, but they got toques now!

@bsquiklehausen.com isn’t getting nearly enough credit for how good these look. You can wear this one out without getting weird looks from strangers (they just don’t get fashion, I swear)! Gotta be my favorite sweater yet.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Love it. After three years of “ugly” including a 2023 sweater with lights & a sound element, pivoting to “a BART sweater you can wear to a work meeting” was the right move.

I love these guides that @bsquiklehausen.com makes for BART. Take BART this holiday weekend and stay off the roads.

These kids love BART and we wanted to give them the spotlight! Zayn really shines. ✨🤩 This is an adorable series with more to come.

It’s official! Huge thank you to @bart.gov for all of their support throughout this journey, I’m so happy our record will be hanging in the board room for everyone to see!

There is a Guinness World Record certificate hanging in the BART Board Room! In March 2024, a group of seven UC Berkeley students and friends accomplished a BART speedrun in 5 hours, 47 minutes, and 42 seconds. Guinness has officially certified this BART speedrun.

Our budget agreement with the Governor is now public. We fully protected public transportation funding — reversing all proposed cuts — & fully protected the $750M loan to Bay Area transit systems we previously agreed to with the Assembly. 🧵

The fact that our public transit system has booths at anime cons fills me with joy

We’ve curated some fun activities for OffKai.

🙏🙏

Nice to see Bluesky out in the wild during my @bart.gov commute :)

I love being part of this project because it is complicated but also thrilling to unify what has been a disjointed collection of maps and signs. This will make an amazing case study.

Join @bart.gov General Manager Bob Powers, @sfmta.com Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum, and Senator @scottwiener.bsky.social for what will be a lively discussion about transit. I’ll be there too! www.sfchronicle.com/events/artic...

The Trost family on @bart.gov heading to Kendrick Lamar and Sza. The freeway sign said downtown SF would be 60 minutes, we will get there in about 20!

Fun at work.

I feel so bad for people who confuse the North Concord/Martinez BART Station with the Martinez Amtrak Station! I just helped an older adult with mobility problems who didn’t speak much English get on a County Connection bus to the Amtrak station. I’m hoping one day we will reexamine station names.

ICYMI: Last week, I visited and rode from @bart.gov 19th Street Station to Fruitvale to see new station and safety improvements AND advocate for more transit-oriented development with The Unity Council. Watch more below ⬇️

It’s the hottest ticket in town. 200 slots sold out in 2.5 hours. People want to ride transit and bring their kids.

This is just a brilliant idea. BART has been crushing it lately with their various community outreach events.

New Nimbus Shirt!

Transparency and making our service information available in many places is important to us. We are also working to restructure our alerts and the details provided to make them more useful to all riders. Stay tuned.

Infrastructure storytelling. Plus a visual display of how refurbishing assets save money in BART’s operating budget. 🛠️

I love these new advertising posters on BART. Thank you Ca Dept of Public Health for sharing this important message with our riders and supporting BART through ad dollars.

Clean and open restrooms and elevators are part of our approach to increase ridership. I’m thrilled that we plan to extend these programs.

This thread was a really interesting read and I hope it’s something the newsletter spotlights. Its easy to be critical of a lot of our transit but credit is given less.

I love that @bart.gov is posting new art by Obi Kaufmann in its stations.

Full circle moment today! My former colleagues @bart.gov visited my D.C. office today, and we discussed how we can leverage Congressional pathways to champion accessible public transit. In Congress, I’m committed to continuing my advocacy for transit justice.

“I think you should just try as hard as you can. And if you fail It’s fine.” Love this video of our @bart.gov speedrun — edited by @thebiscuitdan.bsky.social With wisdom from BART police chief Kevin Franklin & dancing with 9-year-old speed runner Ben Lawson. 🚇 🕺🏻 💯 youtu.be/2eQqoqCVaak?...

I worked on both these great collaborations with our Art Program Manager Jennifer Easton. The posters below from CCA even won an award! @victorfloresbart.bsky.social asked staff to consider doing a new etiquette campaign. I’m open to ideas.

Once again, @bart.gov has the best public outreach team in the world

It’s important to recognize where that money goes. It’s also important to recognize where that money doesn’t go. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b...

Heroes.

I will be at Salesforce tomorrow. If you work there come say hello and ask me questions about BART!

Spend your Valentine’s Day with me!