BART service restored after systemwide computer outage impacts San Francisco Bay Area commute for hours
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) service has been fully restored Friday, after the agency dealt with a computer outage that shut down the entire system during the morning commute.
The agency announced shortly after 9:15 a.m. that service had resumed. Around 4:30 a.m., BART first announced that the system was being suspended due to a train control system problem.
Trains were not running into the 8 a.m. hour, forcing many commuters to hit the roads, use rideshares, or ride on alternate transit systems.
"We just know that we couldn't power up our train control as we usually do in the morning. And then what that means is we just can't run safe train service. We may be able to run trains, but if we can't see into the system, it's not safe to do so," BART spokesperson Alicia Trost told CBS News Bay Area's Kevin Ko after train service was restored. "So what happened was we started to reset servers, starting to send crews out, trying to identify what is causing the problem that prevented us from powering up."
"Once those inspection trains went out and everything looked fine, then we were able to restore service," Trost went on to say.
In an interview with CBS News Bay Area reporter Lauren Toms, Trost said the agency identified the root cause of the outage.
"It all comes down to some network devices within the system that were not communicating property, and they were actually part of a redundant system. And once we disconnected those devices, then we were able to get everything working again," Trost said.
Trost added that there was no signs of a cyber incident and that the age of the equipment was not related to the outage.
The Bay Bridge toll plaza, which usually sees lighter traffic on Friday compared to other weekdays, was crowded at the height of the morning commute and remained so past 10 a.m. Commuters on the San Mateo Bridge also dealt with heavier traffic than usual Friday morning.
Other agencies, including the San Francisco Bay Ferry, Caltrain, AC Transit and Muni provided mutual aid during the outage. Officials with the San Francisco Bay Ferry said they have placed larger ferries into service where possible.
About 174,000 people ride BART on an average weekday, according to the agency's March 2025 Monthly Ridership Snapshot report.
Friday's outage comes as the agency and elected officials sound the alarm of a "fiscal cliff" after the system is expected to exhaust its pandemic emergency funds next year. BART said they system is expected to face structural deficits of at least $350 million per year beginning in the 2027 fiscal year.
Watch the CBS News Bay Area Special: BART on the Brink
The agency is working with lawmakers, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and other transit agencies on a possible 2026 ballot measure to fund transit.
"This outage showed once again how essential BART — and transit generally — is to life in the Bay Area. Everyone suffers when we lose robust public transportation service: our roads rapidly become choked with traffic, workers are unable to make it to work, children miss their rides to school, and businesses lose customers," said a joint statement from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Sen. Jesse Arreguin (D-Berkeley), who are pushing for the ballot measure. "This temporary headache could become a nightmarish new reality if nothing is done to address the financial crisis facing BART and other transit systems."
