Prada, Gucci, or BART?

After facilitating over a billion trips since BART’s inception in 1957, the iconic paper tickets were retired and replaced with electronic and physical Clipper cards in November of 2023. Almost a year later, BART is celebrating the retirement of these tickets in a creative way. On Saturday, September 14, from 1-3 p.m., the Rockridge Station parking lot will host “Project Doneway,” a runway exhibition featuring local artists who have transformed defunct BART tickets into unique fashion creations. The event is open to the public and promises to be a vibrant display of local talent. See details here.  

Inspired by Sean Porter’s dress made from his own used BART tickets in 2015 (see more here), BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost aims to engage Bay Area youth and young adults through art with this event. Porter says that the idea came to her when the thousands of unused tickets were about to be shredded, and she thought of Porter’s blue dress. BART invited students from four local fashion design programs – Academy of Art University, Oakland School for the Arts, City College of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University – to participate in the project, supplying them with thousands of unused tickets and celebrating their creativity. Over 20 design students at Oakland School for the Arts high school are participating in the show as their first school project, connecting them even more with the transit system that serves the Bay Area. 

You might also notice some other irregularities with your transit routine as BART celebrates its annual transit month celebration! With hundreds of free events, contests, and promotions, September is an exciting time to celebrate BART and its contribution to the Bay Area’s vibrant and diverse cultural landscape. View and register for transit month events here. Sign up for the Ride Contest, a month-long contest where you can earn badges and prizes by logging your rides across all Bay Area transit systems, here. We hope you enjoy this year’s transit month and public transit systems like ours that work to maintain a connected and healthy community!