San Mateo County BART stations get $12 million dollar glow-up

The BART Board of Directors has approved nearly $12 million in capital investments for San Mateo County BART stations to improve the customer experience and to ensure the station infrastructure remains welcoming and in a state of good repair. The package of upgrades is part of BART's Station Glow-Up Strategy, focused on sprucing up stations and parking lots to improve ambience and enhance safety.

The San Mateo County effort includes new LED lighting to improve safety and brightness; roof replacement and gutter work to address water intrusion that impacts employees, riders, and BART equipment; deep cleaning to scrub away bird droppings; landscaping; the removal of metal framed bus shelters with panels that were prone to continuous vandalism and graffiti; and other work that will improve conditions and the appearance of BART property.

This past year, BART has taken additional action to improve San Mateo County stations with deep cleaning and permanently adding two additional janitorial staff to increase cleaning in the county. BART crews repaired floors, benches, and gutters, added fresh paint to key areas, and removed obsolete equipment such as old phone booths and aging artwork at Colma Station that could not be repaired or salvaged following a review by a conservation specialists and structural engineers. Millbrae Station is currently getting new LED lighting with the work to be completed this month. In September, BART celebrated the installation of new fare gates at all San Mateo County stations, marking a major milestone in ongoing investments at the county's six stations.

Details of the upcoming $12 million in planned improvements:

• Colma Station will get new LED lighting, roof upgrades, and dated bus shelter removal.
• South San Francisco Station will get LED lighting, roof upgrades and cleaning, gutter replacement, refurbished landscaping, and dated bus shelter removal.
• San Bruno Station will get new LED lighting, roof upgrades, specialized deep cleaning of hard-to-reach areas, and safety netting replacement to protect people from falling debris.
• Millbrae Station will get gutter and downspout repairs that will address water leaking in various areas such as the concourse and platform.

Work will begin in early 2026 and will be completed by the end of the year.

"Revitalizing these stations is part of what we like to call the new BART," said BART Board President Mark Foley. "These upgrades will improve the functional use and aesthetics of our important San Mateo County stations while demonstrating our gratitude and commitment to our continued partnership with the county."

BART is a critical piece of the transit network in San Mateo County, and San Mateo County riders are a key part of the BART system. BART carries approximately 25 percent of transit boardings among all operators in San Mateo County and 10 percent of all day boardings for BART originate in San Mateo County. On a typical weekday, BART runs 520 trains into and out of San Mateo County.