BART tests fare gate advertisements at nine stations to explore new revenue opportunity

BART is testing a new look on fare gates at nine stations as part of an ongoing effort to explore new and creative revenue opportunities as the agency faces a structural deficit starting in Fiscal Year 2027.

The fare gate advertising pilot will see fare gates at nine stations wrapped with advertising on their clear plexiglass doors and metal consoles to understand how the wrap material will perform in real-world conditions. The wraps have already undergone testing at BART's fare gate lab to assess the material's impact on the the surface of the gates.

This pilot follows the testing of train car wrapping earlier this year, when BART Marketing covered a train car in cheerful BARTy mascots. These pilots will provide BART with a potential new revenue source as BART continues to implement significant cost-cutting measures that have reduced expenses by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The fare gate advertising pilot is rolling out at nine stations this week: 19th St Oakland, Downtown Berkeley, Dublin/Pleasanton, Concord, Fremont, 16th St Mission, and Daly City stations. Additional wraps will be installed at SFO and OAK stations ahead of the FIFA World Cup, starting June 13. Wraps at Downtown Berkeley will be removed after a month, while others will be left on for varied amounts of time.

"Fare gate wraps give us a new advertising canvas to work with, and we're excited to see how this pilot performs and potentially expand it throughout the system," said BART Director of Marketing and Research David Martindale.

The wraps are designed to allow clear sightlines through the fare gates so BART Police and staff can still see across the fare gate line. BART Marketing also worked closely with BART Police and other internal stakeholders during the planning process to make sure the placement and materials met their standards.

This will be the first time BART has wrapped fare gates with advertising. In 2025, BART completed installation of new fare gates at all 50 stations, replacing the 50-plus-year-old system's original gates.

Early indications suggest that due to reduced fare evasion the new fare gates are responsible for BART revenue growing by about $10 million annually. Additionally, crime on BART plummeted 41% in 2025 compared to the previous year, despite the fare gate project being completed in August of that year and a steady increase in ridership. There was also a 961-hour reduction in corrective maintenance hours related to unwanted behavior in the 6 months post-installation.