Difference between revisions of "Timeline of Bay Area Rapid Transit"

! Year !! Month and date !! Event type !! Details !! Associated parts of BART (stations or parts of track)

| 1872 || || || [[wikipedia:Emperor Norton|Emperor Norton]] envisages a bridge and an underwater tube connecting San Francisco with the East Bay.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.emperorsbridge.org/emperor/bridge-proclamations/|title = EMPEROR NORTON  ::  Bridge Proclamations|accessdate = June 3, 2017|publisher = The Emperor's Bridge Campaign}}</ref> The bridge declarations are made in the ''Pacific Appeal'' on January 6 and March 23,<ref name=emperor-norton-bridge-1>{{cite web|url = https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PA18720106.2.7&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN------|title = Emperor Norton Bridge Proclamation I|date = January 6, 1872|accessdate = June 3, 2017|author = [[wikipedia:Emperor Norton|Emperor Norton]]|publisher = ''Pacific Appeal''}}</ref><ref name emperor-norton-bridge-2>{{cite web|url = https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PA18720323.2.3&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN------|title = Emperor Norton Second Bridge Proclamation|date = March 23, 1872|accessdate = June 3, 2017|author = [[wikipedia:Emperor Norton|Emperor Norton]]|publisher = ''Pacific Appeal''}}</ref> and the underwater tube declaration is made in the ''Pacific Appeal'' on June 15.<ref name=emperor-norton-transbay-tube>{{cite web|url = https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PA18720615.2.4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN------|title = Emperor Norton Transbay Tube Declaration|author = Emperor Norton|publisher = ''Pacific Appeal''}}</ref> The bridge would be realized as the [[wikipedia:San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge|San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]], and the underwater tube would be realized as the [[wikipedia:Transbay Tube|Transbay Tube]], a part of BART. || Transbay Tube

| 1936 || November 12 || Highway transportation || The [[wikipedia:San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge|San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] opens for traffic, three years after construction began on July 8, 1933.<ref name="Two Bay Area Bridges">{{cite web|title=Two Bay Area Bridges |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |date=January 18, 2005 |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/2bridges.htm |accessdate=June 13, 2008 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5tv15npMH?url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/2bridges.htm |archivedate=November 1, 2010 |deadurl=no |df= }}</ref> || Transbay Tube

| 1945 || || Organization || The San Francisco Bay Region Council is created by California's State Reconstruction and Re-Employment Commission.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 42|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> Although funded by the state in its first year, the council incorporates as a private nonprofit organization, and changes its name to the [[wikipedia:Bay Area Council|Bay Area Council]]. Initial supporters of the now private BAC include [[wikipedia:Bank of America|Bank of America]], [[wikipedia:American Trust Company|American Trust Company]], [[wikipedia:Standard Oil|Standard Oil of California]], [[wikipedia:Pacific Gas & Electric|Pacific Gas & Electric]], [[wikipedia:U.S. Steel|U.S. Steel]], and [[wikipedia:Bechtel Corporation|Bechtel Corporation]]. In subsequent years, BAC would be influential in pushing for transportation changes in the San Francisco Bay Area, including enhancements to the bridges as well as the ceration of BART. ||

| 1946 || || Acquisition || The [[wikipedia:Key System Trasit Company|Key System Transit Company]], a private operator of electric trollies in the Bay Area, is acquired by National City Lines, a company representing automobile and bus interests, that wishes to eliminate electric trollies from the streets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 45|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> The removal of a key alternative provider of mass transit would pave the way for mass transit solutions such as BART. ||

| 1947 || || Report || A joint review board by the United States Army and Navy concludes that an additional link is needed between San Francisco and Oakland to reduce congestion on the Bay Bridge. The proposed link is an underwater tube to carry high-speed electric trains.<ref name=bart-concept-born/><ref name=divided-loyalties-p25/> || Transbay Tube

| 1949 || || Legislation || The California state legislature passes the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Rapid Transit District Act.<ref name=clr>{{cite web|url = http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2867&context=californialawreview|title = BART and the Victoria Line: A Comparison of New Commuter Transport in California and London|last = Griffith|first = John|last2 = Holmes|first2 = Dallas|date = August 1, 1967|accessdate = June 2, 2017|publisher = ''[[wikipedia:California Law Review|California Law Review]]''}}</ref> According to the Act, a specially created district would be needed to operate effectively in the context of multiple Bay Area governmental units. The Act provides that the district shall include the city and county of San Francisco and the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Piedmont, and San Leandro, and may include all or any part of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties and any city situated therein. In total, over seventy county, city and county, and city governments are potentially involved.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1950 || March || Report || The Oakland City Planning Commission submits a preliminary report to the mayors and managers of the cities in the East Bay, with an analysis of and suggested improvements to the Key System local bus service. The report emphasizes the need for a publicly owned rapid transit system on grade-separated rights of way.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1951 || April || Report || The Senate Interim Committee on the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Rapid Transit Problems issues a report emphasizing the need for a rapid transit system of the kind envisioned by the Rapid Transit Act of 1949, and favors a publicly owned system over a privately owned one.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1951 || || Legislation || The California State Legislature passes a new statute, adding a Section 39 to the Rapid Transit Act of 1949.<ref name=clr/> It creates a 26-member San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission, comprised of representatives from each of the nine counties which touch the Bay. The Commission's charge is to study the Bay Area's long range transportation needs in the context of environmental problems and then recommend the best solution.<ref name=clr/><ref name=bart-concept-born/><ref name=divided-loyalties-p25/> Both the joint Army/Navy report<ref name=divided-loyalties-p25/> and the efforts of BAC are credited for the legislature's decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 44|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> ||

| 1953 || January || Report || A report prepared by the Rapid Transit Commission with the help of the consulting firm Deleuw, Cather & Co. is submitted to the California state legislature. The report is based on plans, data, and information from all the nine counties potentially covered by the Rapid Transit Act. The report argues that highways alone will not solve the transportation problems of the Bay Area, and pushes for mass rapid transit that has a low elapsed time from start to destination, and that can integrate well with other modes of transport.<ref name=clr/> The Senate Interim Committee endorses this report, and draws particular attention to four major interurban operators serving the Bay Area: Pacific Greyhound Lines, Key System Transit Lines, Southern Pacific Company, and Peerless Stages System.<ref name=clr/> ||  

| 1953 || November 4 || Legislation || The California state legislature passes another statute, appropriating $400,000 to enable the Rapid Transit Commission to make preliminary studies for the development of a coordinated master plan. The statute provides that the amount appropriated by the state is to be spent only if the nine counties appropriate an additional $350,000. This condition is fulfilled on November 4.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1953 || November 12 || Report || Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and Macdonald (PBHM) are commissioned for the study for which $750,000 was appropriated on November 4.<ref name=clr/><ref name=rrt/> ||

| 1955 || || Report || The Senate Interim Committee on the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Rapid Transit Problems issues a report saying that the general transit situation in the Bay Area has deterioriated. Based on counts of the number of people who commute to work, it concludes that the Bay Area is a single economic unit and is in urgent need of a mass transit system.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1955 || || Legislation || The California state legislature extends the lifetime of the Rapid Transit Commission (that was created in 1951 and scheduled to end in 1955) to 1957, and allowing any unallocated portion of the previously appropriated $750,000 to be used for publicity of the Bay Area's transit problems.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1956 || January || Report || Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and Macdonald (PBHM) present a report, ''Regional Rapid Transit'' (RRT) to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission, that was commissioned in November 1953. This report is the first planning document for BART and would be the starting point for further reports.<ref name=clr/><ref name=rrt>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 52|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> ||

| 1957 || || Highway transportation || A number of citizens' groups protest freeway construction in San Francisco starting around this time, beginning with the Embarcadero Freeway. This leads to increased interest in mass rapid transit as an alternative.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 48|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> ||

| 1957 || March (legislation), June 4 (creation of the District) || Legislation || Based on the findings of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BARTD) is formed by the [[wikipedia:California|California]] state legislature, comprising the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo. Santa Clara county is not included.<ref name=bart-concept-born>{{cite web|url = http://www.bart.gov/about/history/history|title = A History of BART: The Concept is Born|accessdate = May 28, 2017|publisher = [[wikipedia:Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]]}}</ref><ref name=divided-loyalties-p25>{{cite web|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NsRgNh35XPEC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q=bay%20area%20rapid%20transit%20district&f=false|title = Divided Loyalties: Whistle-blowing at BART (Page 25)|author = Robert Morris Anderson}}</ref> The draft bill had been the subject of public hearings in November 1956, been revised and introduced in January 1957, had another public hearing on February 20, and finally passes when the legislature reconvenes in March.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1957 || November 14 || Meeting || The first meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District occurs.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1957 || December 16 || Report || The final report of the Rapid Transit Commission is submitted to the California state legislature.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1958 || || Team || Billy Raymond Stokes (stylized B. R. Stokes), a former ''[[wikipedia:Oakland Tribune|Oakland Tribune]]'' newsman, joins the Bay Area Rapid Transit District as its first employee, with the title of Director of information.<ref name=stokes-obit>{{cite web|url = https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2013/news20130517|title = BART's first employee, former General Manager B. R. Stokes, passes away|last = Healy|first = Michael|publisher = [[wikipedia:Bay Area Rapid Transit|Bay Area Rapid Transit]]}}</ref><ref name=clr/> Stokes starts a carefully orchestrated publicity campaign, with the goal of convincing voters to vote favorably for upcoming BART bond measures.<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1958 || || Team || John Pierce, a former executive of the [[wikipedia:Western Oil and Gas Association|Western Oil and Gas Association]] (WOGA) becomes the first General Manager of BART.<ref name=stokes-obit/><ref name-counterpunch>{{cite web|url = http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/11/backing-bart-against-its-workers/|title = Backing BART Against Its Workers|last = Bond-Graham|first = Darwin|date = October 11, 2013|accessdate = June 3, 2017|publisher = ''[[wikipedia:CounterPunch|CounterPunch]]''}}</ref> ||

| 1959 || May 14 || Work contracts || BART retains the services of the joint engineering venture composed of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and Macdonald, Tudor Engineering, and the Bechtel Corporation to develop a regional plan.<ref name=divided-loyalties>{{cite web|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NsRgNh35XPEC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=bart+pbtb&source=bl&ots=my0IV7wkLm&sig=SpL3c3hqFXy3iSw9d-3I-DTp75I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie4Nzpj5TUAhUPw2MKHchmAbQQ6AEIMTAC#v=onepage&q=bart%20pbtb&f=false|title = BART, PBTB, and CSPE|accessdate = May 28, 2017}}</ref><ref name=urban-elites-p54>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 54|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> ||

| 1959 || || Financing plan || A bill is passed in the California state legislature providing for financing of what would later become the [[wikipedia:Transbay Tube|Transbay Tube]] through surplus toll revenues from the [[wikipedia:San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge|San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]].<ref name=clr/> ||

| 1961 || || System plan || A final plan is sent to the boards of supervisors of the five counties. The system would have three endpoints in the East Bay: Concord, Richmond, and Fremont; one in the Northwest at Novato, and one in the South Bay at Palo Alto.<ref name=bart-concept-born/> ||

| 1962 || April || County coordination || San Mateo County opts out of BART, citing high costs, existing service provided by Southern Pacific commuter trains, and concerns over shoppers going to San Francisco, hurting local businesses. The withdrawal of San Mateo County leads to Daly City (just at the border between the counties) as the southwest terminus.<ref name=bart-concept-born/> ||

| 1962 || May || County coordination || Following the withdrawal of San Mateo County, Marin County also withdraws, citing engineering objections and the potential for not getting enough votes. This leads to cancellation of the plans for a northwest terminus and the Geary Subway section of the system.<ref name=bart-concept-born/> ||

| 1962 || May || Report || The ''Composite Report'' (CR) is produced by the consortium of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and Macdonald, Tudor Engineering hired by BARTD in 1959.<ref name=urban-elites-p54/> ||

| 1962 || November || County coordination || The remaining three counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco) agree to the modified BART plan with a $792 million bond measure, with terminuses at Richmond, Concord, Fremont, and Daly City.<ref name=bart-concept-born/> The measure, known as Proposition A on the three-county ballot, is able to pass due to two changes engineered by Alan K. Browne of the Bank of America: (a) getting the state legislature to reduce the needed BART vote from 66.67% (the default) to 60%, and (b) allowing for the requirement of crossing the vote threshold to be applied to all votes together, rather than county-by-county. Without both these changes, the measure would not have passed.<ref name=urban-elites-p59>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 59|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref> Supporters of the measure organize a campaign committee called Citizens for Rapid Transit, whose top members are San Francisco bankers.<ref name=urban-elites-p59/> In contrast, there is no organized opposition. Opponents include the Civil League of Improvement and Associations that opposes the taxes needed, the Central Council of Civic Clubs and the San Francisco Labor Council that have more specific objections, and some automobile and older railroad companies, though these companies do not spend resources on opposing the bond measure. ||

| 1962 || November 29 || Work contracts || BART signs a new contract with the successors to the firms it had contracted with to come up with a design for the system. The new contract is for overall system planning through research and development, design, and management of construction. The contract is with the engineering joint venture firm composed of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade, and Douglas (the successor to Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall, and MacDonald), Tudor and Bechtel. In short, the joint venture to which the work is contracted is called PBTB.<ref name="Ethics Center"/><ref name=bart-begins/> ||

| 1962/1963 || || Lawsuit || Robert L. Osborne, an Oakland city councilman and East Bay manufacturer, files a lawsuit against BARTD arguing that fixed rail is obsolete, that BART stations would be too far apart to encourage riders, that better and more efficient transit systems were rejected by BARTD, that the ultimate cost would exceed the $792 million approved, that BARTD's contract with PBTB is open-ended and illegal and based on nepotism, and that an illegal, close working relationship exists between the Citizens for Rapid Transit Committee and BART public officials.<ref name=clr/> The court first eliminates some of the allegations, then after hearing the plaintiff's case at trial the court rules against the plaintiff.<ref name=clr/> Many of these allegations would later prove true.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uX_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63|title = Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Page 63|author = J. Allen Whitt}}</ref><ref name=clr/> ||

| 1963 || || Team || B. R. Stokes, who was BART's first employee serving as BART's Director of Information, becomes the General Manager of BART.<ref name=stokes-obit/>

| 1964 || June 19 || Construction || BART construction is officially inaugurated by President [[wikipedia:Lyndon Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]], presiding over the ground-breaking ceremony for a 4.4-mile test track between Concord and Walnut Creek.<ref name=bart-begins>{{cite web|url = http://www.bart.gov/about/history/history|title = A History of BART: The Project Begins|accessdate = May 28, 2017|publisher = [[wikipedi:Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]]}}</ref><ref name=clr/> || Concord, Walnut Creek

| 1965 || || Construction || Construction on the [[wikipedia:Transbay Tube|Transbay Tube]] begins. || Transbay Tube

| 1966 || October || Construction, Referendum || Since 1965, the government of the city of [[wikipedia:Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] had been pressing BART to construct the Berkeley portion of the BART underground (instead of elevated), and said it is willing to pay the additional construction costs. The city government is concerned that an elevated track would reduce connectivity between the black population of South Berkeley and the rest of the city, and reduce prices in the area. Due to disputes between Berkeley city engineers and BART engineers about the magnitude of additional costs, competitive bidding is opened up both for underground and elevated construction, and the city of Berkeley decides, after seeing the difference between the bids, to pay extra for underground construction. A referendum is held in October 1966, where the residents of Berkeley overwhelmingly vote in favor of underground construction and the corresponding tax increase (with 83% in favor, compared to the 75% that city officials were hoping for).<ref name=clr/> || Ashby, Berkeley, North Berkeley (stations in Berkeley)

| 1967 || July || Construction || Construction for BART tracks along the [[wikipedia:Market Street Subway|Market Street Subway]] in San Francisco commences. The construction is carried out using [[wikipedia:cut-and-cover|cut-and-cover]]. || Market Street Subway; stations include downtown San Francisco stations of Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell Street, and Civic Center

| 1967 || || Report || In response to criticism by the [[wikipedia:California Society of Professional Engineers|California Society of Professional Engineers]] (CSPE), the [[wikipedia:National Society of Professional Engineers|National Society of Professional Engineers]] (NSPE) Board of Ethical Review reviews the case. The Opinions are published as Case No. 66-1 in Vol. 2, 1967. The Opinion concludes that it is ''not'' appropriate to issue criticism of the fee arrangements in the manner that CSPE did.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NsRgNh35XPEC&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q&f=false|title = Divided Loyalties: Whistle-blowing at BART|title = Robert Morris Anderson}}</ref> ||

| 1967 || || Work contracts || The contract for the operation of BART's [[wikipedia:Automated Train Control|Automated Train Control]] (ATC) system is won by [[wikipedia:Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] for $26 million.<ref name="Ethics Center">{{cite web | url = http://www.onlineethics.org/Topics/ProfPractice/Exemplars/AwardWinners/BARTcase.aspx |author= Stephen Unger |title= The BART Case |publisher= The Online Ethics Center for engineering and science |date= April 29, 2010 | accessdate = March 15, 2017 }}</ref> ||

| 1969 || April 3 || Construction || The final section of the [[wikipedia:Transbay Tube|Transbay Tube]] is laid out (it has not yet been fitted for use by trains).<ref name=Lodi69-2>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vuAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VzIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3681%2C7454411 |title=BART Tunnel Completion Moves Near |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |agency=UPI |date=31 March 1969 |newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel |accessdate=20 August 2016}}</ref> ||  Transbay Tube

| 1969 || September 1 || Controversy || At the Contra Costa County meeting to nominate candidates for the BART Board, Roy Andersen, the candidate of the Diablo Chapter of the CSPE delivers a speech critical of the BART/PBTB relationship.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NsRgNh35XPEC&pg=PA101#v=onepage&q&f=false|title = Divided Loyalties: Whistle-blowing at BART|author = Robert Morris Andersen}}</ref> ||

| 1969 || November 9 || Preview || A section of the Transbay Tube is opened for pedestrian traffic, prior to being fitted out for train use.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fnwzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4DIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=7115%2C3602744 |title=BART Tube Is Opened For Sunday Visitors |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |agency=UPI |newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel |date=10 November 1969 |accessdate=20 August 2016}}</ref> || Transbay Tube

| 1972 || February and March || Controversy || Three engineers working for BART, Max Blankenzee, Robert Bruder, and Holger Hjortsvang, had identified safety problems with the [[wikipedia:Automated Train Control|Automated Train Control]] (ATC). They contact Daniel Helix, a member of the BART board of directors, who raises the matter with the board, and goes public with the issues on Febrary 7-9. On February 24 or 25, at a public meeting of BART, the issues are raised. The board votes ten to two in support of BART management.<ref name="Ethics Center"/> On March 3, BART, having determined the identities of the three whistleblowing engineers, gives them the option of resigning or being fired. After they refuse to resign, they are all fired. ||

| 1972 || September 11 || Service start || BART opens service. Initial service is between the stations of MacArthur and Fremont (completely in the East Bay). || MacArthur, 19th Street, 12th Street, Lake Merritt, Fruitvalue, Coliseum, San Leandro, Bay Fair, Hayward, South Hayward, Union City, and Fremont

| 1972 || || Controversy || Concerned by the controversy surrounding the engineers who raised safety concerns with BART, California's legislative analyst [[wikipedia:A. Alan Post|A. Alan Post]] commissions [[wikipedia:Bill Wattenburg|Bill Wattenburg]] to review problems with BART. Wattenburg identifies a number of potential flaws with the method BART uses to track trains, and provides suggestions to improve the system, albeit in a combative fashion that generates a lot of publicity (including ''[[wikipedia:San Francisco Chronicle|San Francisco Chronicle]]'' coverage) but is not well-received by BART.<ref name="Dr. Wattenburg2">{{cite web | url = http://www.pushback.com/Wattenburg/bio/BART.html |author= Peter Sheerin |title= Bill Wattenburg’s Background: BART—Bay Area Rapid Transit System |date= October 1, 1990 | accessdate = March 15, 2017 }}</ref> and brought in electrical engineering Professor [[Bill Wattenburg]] of the University of California, Berkeley as a consultant.<ref name="Dr. Wattenburg3">{{cite web | url = http://www.wattenburg.us/12-01-72,%20MAIN%20Testimony%20on%20BART,%20WHW%20pg1-12%20%281%29.pdf |author= Dr. W.H. Wattenburg |title= The BART Train Control Game|date= December 1, 1972 | accessdate = March 15, 2017 }}</ref> ||

| 1972 || October 2 || Accident || A failure of the Automated Train Control (ATC) system at BART causes an accident at [[wikipedia:Fremont station (BART)|Fremont station]] called the ''Fremont flyer'', where a train runs off the end of the elevated track and crashes to the ground at the parking lot. Four people are injured.<ref name="nytimes Dec1972">{{cite web | url = http://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/10/archives/troubles-beset-transit-system-in-san-francisco-bay-area.html |title= Troubles Beset Transit System in San Francisco Bay Area |date= December 9, 1972 | accessdate = March 15, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/8143196966|title = Derailed BART train (1972)|last = Fischer|first = Eric|date = October 2, 1972|accessdate = June 3, 2017|publisher = [[wikipedia:Flickr|Flickr]]}}</ref>

| 1972 || November || Report || At the request of the California Senate Public Utilities and Corporations Committee, California's legslative analyst A. Alan Post issues a report containing criticisms of BART's Automated Train Control (ATC) system as well as its contracting and operating procedures. Within three weeks, BART issues a 157-page response, agreeing to some of the suggestions (and outlining its intention to implement them) but viewing others as nitpicky, questionable, and misguided.<ref name=divided-loyalties-p233-235>{{cite web|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NsRgNh35XPEC&pg=PA233|title = Divided Loyalties: Whistle-blowing at BART|author = Robert Morris Andersen}}, Pages 233 to 235</ref><ref name="KPFA documentary">{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/details/pra-BC1167 |author= Bill Northwood |title= What is BART, and why are we saying such terrible things about it? |publisher= KPFA Pacifica Radio |page= 5 min : 00 sec |date= November 29, 1972 | accessdate = March 15, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="nytimes Dec1972"/>

| 1973 || January 29 || New stations || BART opens service from MacArthur to Richmond (in the East Bay). || Ashby, Berkeley, North Berkeley, El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito Del Norte, and Richmond.

| 1976 || May 27 || New stations || BART opens its Embarcadero station, its first infill station. This would become BART's busiest station. || Embarcadero