Ten years ago this month, BART opened the OAK Airport Connector to passenger service. This line remains one of the most unique in the BART system. Before then, BART operated only one type of trains: wide gauge rapid transit cars. Now, BART not only operates wide gauge trains and the OAK Connector but also runs standard gauge diesel trains (eBART) in eastern Contra Costa County.

This line’s unique features from the rest of BART system:

• Cars are hauled by cables
• Trains are completely automated
• Stations have platform screen doors. Many want the same feature on the main BART system, as in most Asian metros, to prevent people from accidentally or intentionally falling onto the track.

The OAK Airport Connector was controversial when BART conducted studies on the project and sought funding before construction. Many transit advocates believed a bus rapid transit line should be built instead of automated trains. However, the rail project had support from construction unions seeking public works jobs during the region’s recovery from the Great Recession.

Before the OAK Airport Connector, the AirBART bus offered frequent connections between the Coliseum Station and Oakland Airport. Despite the $3 fare, which for many years required riders to pay with a BART ticket, the bus route remained financially sustainable. To maintain that sustainability, BART now charges about $7 for the OAK Airport Connector, in addition to the fare to the Coliseum Station.

Oakland Airport Station currently ranks as the second least-used station in the BART system, with an weekday average of 639 exits in October 2024. The least-used station is Pittsburg Center. In contrast, the SFO station averaged over 4,000 exits on weekdays last month, showing a faster post-COVID ridership recovery than many other stations.

The travel time on BART from Downtown San Francisco to both SFO and OAK is about the same, at 34 minutes. The fare is only slightly more expensive to ride to OAK, and a transfer is required.

Airport traffic is likely the main reason for the low usage of the OAK Airport Connector compared to SFO. Historically, OAK carries only a fraction of the passenger traffic that SFO handles. The main tenant at OAK is Southwest Airlines, with Alaska and Delta as the only other major carriers, offering limited destinations. Other carriers at OAK are low-cost airlines like Spirit and Volaris. In contrast, SFO is a hub for United Airlines and hosts a variety of international carriers from four of the seven continents.

Recently, OAK has developed a negative reputation due to crimes against airport travelers along the Hegenberger corridor, where the OAK Airport Connector trains run overhead. This has led to the closure of businesses and hotels near the airport.

Since the 1990s, the Bay Area’s long-term strategy has been to position OAK as a relief airport due to SFO’s capacity limitations caused by its runway configuration and frequent fog. This led to the desire for rail service to both OAK and SFO. However, the plan didn’t unfold as expected because of competition, or more appropriately, sibling rivalry, between Oakland and San Francisco, as well as the impacts on the airline industry from 9/11 and, most recently, COVID.