Valentraine<\/a>, in 2025 after each learned about the event on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\nAfter a brief conversation and a phone number exchange, the chemistry was undeniable. Roca and \u00dcrek, both 26, have been dating ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cAfter college, it\u2019s kind of hard to meet new people,\u201d admitted Roca, a Bay Area native and lifelong BART rider, said, noting that the trains feel like a \u201csafe space\u201d that she finds comforting.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to just be there and experience the sort of community of like-minded people,\u201d \u00dcrek added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both agreed that in an era so driven by technology, it\u2019s refreshing to have a third space to meet new people and interact offline. \u00dcrek noted that she felt particularly safe at such events, even though she attended solo, because of the passionate and genuine types of people that make up the BART community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are so freaking happy to be there,\u201d Karen Lingua said of BART events, many of which she and her husband have attended together in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She noted that it\u2019s a testament to the strength of its community, and Robertson agrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cPeople want excuses and opportunities to meet in real life,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is creating these welcoming, low-cost experiences that are connecting people, but at the same time, they\u2019re building affinity with BART as a brand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Attendees wait to board the BART Valentraine ride for the agency\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day speed dating event in\u00a02025.<\/p>\n
Adahlia Cole\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Robertson noted that the impact is \u201chard to quantify,\u201d but said the agency has seen signs that the events are boosting day-of ridership. She acknowledged, however, that any gains have been gradual and are not enough to resolve the agency\u2019s broader financial deficit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBART still needs a long-term sustainable funding source,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of this work is incremental \u2026 I think we\u2019ve been moving the needle slowly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luckily, riders who are aware of these struggles seem more than eager to help the cause.<\/p>\n
While Richard and Roca grew up taking BART and say they feel a certain sense of nostalgia toward the trains that fuels their appreciation for the agency, even those who can\u2019t relate are invested in its long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in this climate, I want to be a BART enthusiast,\u201d \u00dcrek, who grew up in Istanbul, said. \u201cI don\u2019t want BART to lose its funding. I don\u2019t want stations to close down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The transit agency had a $100,000 budget for all of its community events in 2025, which went toward expenses such as merchandise, paying live musicians and hosting movie screenings.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Raffle prizes in BART branded tote bags sit on the ground at the Berkeley BART station before attendees board the train for the Valentine\u2019s Day speed dating event in\u00a02025.<\/p>\n
Adahlia Cole\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Robertson said the agency is always experimenting with ways to offset costs, which is why some events are ticketed and why there is so much new BART apparel and other merchandise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That strategy appears to resonate with some of the agency\u2019s most devoted fans. For the Linguas, collecting \u201cBART swag,\u201d as Karen calls it, has become a hobby.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To Robertson, this is what it\u2019s all about: being loud and proud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially for folks who grow up here, it\u2019s a symbol of the Bay Area,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol of their pride in this region and in the public institutions that make the Bay area a wonderful place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BART riders speed date on the transit line\u2019s Valentraine ride on Valentine\u2019s Day in 2025. The agency is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[329,7,332,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-347392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-california","tag-east-bay","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}