BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

  • Senior Planner

  • BART
  • Oakland, California United States View Map
Marketing Statement

Ride BART to a satisfying career that lets you both: 1) make a difference to Bay Area residents, and 2) enjoy excellent pay, benefits, and employment stability. BART is looking for people who like to be challenged, work in a fast-paced environment, and have a passion for connecting riders to work, school and other places they need to go. BART offers a competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, and the CalPERS retirement program.

Job Summary

Pay Rate:
AFSCME Pay Grade A13
Annual Salary: $ 125,840.00 (Step 1) - $152,942.40 (Step 5)
*Initial negotiable annual salary will be commensurate with education and experience.

Current Assignment:
This announcement will be used to create an eligibility list to backfill future vacancies that may occur within the next twelve (12) months.

Looking for a career where your work has a real impact every day? Join BART and help connect more than 200,000 riders across the Bay Area to jobs, schools, healthcare, and the opportunities that matter most. As a Senior Planner, you'll play a key role in shaping the future of one of the nation's most vital transit systems while contributing to a more connected, sustainable, and equitable region.

BART is seeking talented professionals who thrive on solving complex challenges, enjoy working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, a hybrid schedule and are passionate about public service.

Reporting to the Group Manager, Station Area Planning, Senior Planners are responsible for a combination of planning duties in support of station area planning , including land use/Transit Oriented Development (TOD), station access, and station upgrade projects as well as developing and coordinating the acquisition of funding for projects and programs with other transportation agencies; and performs related duties as assigned.

The most qualified candidate will demonstrate the following in addition to meeting the minimum qualifications:

  • Experience with station area, land use, transportation, and access planning.
  • Familiarity with station design, including capacity analysis, multimodal station access, and urban design best practices.
  • Understanding of the relationship between land use, transit and travel demand.
  • Experience with placemaking, to better connect BART to surrounding communities and enhance customer experience.
  • Knowledge of travel markets, and regional growth trends and policies to be used in transportation modeling, ridership analysis, and analytical assignments.
  • Demonstrated clear, concise verbal and written communication skills.
The most qualified candidates for this position will have highly developed competencies in the following areas, which will be reinforced in the related work experience and will be articulated during the selection process:
  • Understanding of local land use/transportation planning decision making processes, and experience coordinating with local governments. Familiarity with AB2923, SB79 and the MTC TOC Policy.
  • Demonstrated ability to formulate policies and strategies related to the adopted District policies, such as the Station Access and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policies .
  • Knowledge of BART’s role in the regional economy, environment, land use patterns, and public service.
  • Knowledge of planning and funding efforts at federal, state, regional, County and jurisdictional levels.
  • Knowledge of laws and regulations applicable to transit system and station area planning development (i.e. California Environmental Quality Act, Federal Title VI, Americans with Disabilities Act .
  • Knowledge of station access and accessibility guidelines (NACTO, PROWAG, etc.).
  • Proven ability to engage the public and key stakeholders with effective communication techniques in writing and at in-person and on-line meetings, activities, and events.


If you are ready to make a difference for the Bay Area while building a fulfilling and stable career, we encourage you to apply and join the team that keeps the region moving.

Reports to:
Group Manager, Station Area Planning

Application & Selection Process (Internal/External)
This position is represented by American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). All applicants must apply online at www.bart.gov/jobs . Applications must be completed in full and include all requested information, including dates of employment, positions held, hours worked, and a detailed description of duties performed.

Applicants may attach a resume to provide supplemental information; however, the resume does not substitute for completing the application form in its entirety. Only information included in the application at the time of submission will be used to determine whether applicants meet the minimum qualifications for the position. All application materials must be submitted by the closing date and time listed on the job announcement. Applications received after the closing deadline will not be considered.

Applicants who require assistance with the online application process may contact the Talent Acquisition Division at (510) 464-6112 or employment@bart.gov .

The selection process for this position may include one or more of the following: a skills or performance demonstration, written examination, and/or panel or individual interview.

All applications will be reviewed by the Talent Acquisition Division to determine whether applicants meet the established Minimum Qualifications (MQs). Applicants who meet the MQs may be referred to the hiring department for further evaluation as part of the selection process.

The selected candidate must demonstrate a work history reflecting reliability and dependability and may be required to provide copies of certificates, diplomas, or other documentation required by law, including proof of authorization to work in the United States.

Pre-employment processing will include a background check. This requirement does not apply to current full-time District employees unless the position requires additional evaluations or clearances.

Examples of Duties

Participates in the more complex and difficult work of staff responsible for planning service extensions and service access improvements in District joint transportation projects, service capacity improvements, station rehabilitation, and ridership growth, generates feasibility analyses and technical reports as required.

Develops, maintains and updates program databases, including database reports, scenarios, and cost benefit analyses; responds to input from staff regarding database use; implements program changes.

Conducts environmental impact assessments; researches, assembles, analyzes, and presents data; works closely with District Architects office to develop a plan to identify the use of water by the District and to reduce water usage; coordinates inter-departmental, outside agency and public review of plans; presents recommendations to District management.

Manages and coordinates multiple diverse planning efforts at and related to stations within the BART system, including BART long-term vision, conceptual planning for station modernization, and immediate project-level improvements.

Develops, recommends or assists in formulating policy and strategies for implementing plans and planning services and secures capital funds from diverse sources.

As assigned, serves as District's representative to coordinate on joint agency planning projects; reviews plans, reports, and studies from other agencies which reference District plans; comments on plans, reports, and studies.

Develops scopes of work for feasibility studies, policy research, and project evaluation.

Represents District at meetings with local, state, and federal agencies and public; provides information on District plans, policies, and procedures.

Oversees inter-operator service agreements and contracts including transportation planning and contracted services, transit schedules, express bus service, and service modifications.

Manages the implementation of special accessibility projects including ADA programs; serves as liaison to communicate District program policy, goals and objectives.

Prepares and monitors project budgets to ensure project is completed within budget guidelines; pursues funding opportunities; drafts grant proposals; prepares requests for proposal and contract agreements for assigned projects.

Directs annual station surveys; reviews and analyzes results of surveys; integrates results into planning recommendations.

As assigned, plans, assigns, directs, and reviews work of planners and other staff on an ongoing or project basis.

Planning and hosting community outreach events; directing online and community outreach and education.

Minimum Qualifications

Education :
A Bachelor’s degree in transportation planning, urban planning, economics, business administration, public administration, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university.

Experience :
Three (3) years of (full-time equivalent) verifiable professional experience in transportation planning and analysis.

Other Requirements :
Must possess a valid California driver’s license and have a satisfactory driving record. Must be willing to occasionally travel within the state.

Substitution :
Additional professional experience as outlined above may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis. A college degree is preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge of :
  • Operations, services and activities of a transportation planning program.
  • Advanced methods and techniques of transportation planning.
  • Current and complex principles and practices of transportation planning and analysis.
  • Principles and practices of bus operation, schedules, and equipment utilization.
  • Procedures and practices of procurement and contract management.
  • Computer software programs utilized in transportation planning models.
  • Advanced mathematical principles. Statistical techniques, methods and formulas.
  • Methods and techniques of financial cost/benefits analysis.
  • Principles of business letter writing and report preparation.
  • Related Federal, State, and Local codes, laws, and regulations.
Skill in :
  • Independently performing the most complex short- and long-term District planning duties.
  • Interpreting, explaining, and enforcing department policies and procedures.
  • Performing assigned project management duties.
  • Identifying alternative solutions, projecting impacts and implementing recommendations in support of agreed goals.
  • Coordinating the inter-departmental activities and inter-organizational teams.
  • Leading, organizing, directing, and reviewing the work of staff.
  • Analyzing, summarizing and presenting complex statistical and demographic data.
  • Identifying compliance issues in District facilities.
  • Identifying and responding to community transportation needs.
  • Operating office equipment including computers, word processing, and spreadsheet applications.
  • Working independently in the absence of supervision.
  • Understanding and following oral and written instructions.
  • Communicating clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
  • Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.


Equal Employment Opportunity GroupBox1

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 and above), religion, national origin (including language use restrictions), disability (mental and physical, including HIV and AIDS), ancestry, marital status, military status, veteran status, medical condition (cancer/genetic characteristics and information), or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

The BART Human Resources Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate persons with disabilities or for religious reasons. Please advise the Human Resources Department of any special needs in advance of the examination by emailing at least 5 days before your examination date at employment@bart.gov .

Qualified veterans may be eligible to obtain additional veteran's credit in the selection process for this recruitment (effective Jan. 1, 2013). To obtain the credit, veterans must attach to the application a DD214 discharge document or proof of disability and complete/submit the Veteran's Preference Application no later than the closing date of the posting. For more information about this credit please go to the Veteran's Preference Policy and Application link at www.bart.gov/jobs .

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) prides itself in offering best in class benefits packages to employees of the District. Currently, the following benefits may be available to employees in this job classification.

Highlights
  • Medical Coverage (or $350/month if opted out)
  • Dental Coverage
  • Vision Insurance (Basic and Enhanced Plans Available)
  • Retirement Plan through the CA Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
    • 2% @ 55 (Classic Members)
    • 2% @ 62 (PEPRA Members)
    • Reciprocity available for existing members of many other public retirement systems (see BART website and/or CalPERS website for details)
  • Money Purchase Pension Plan (in-lieu of participating in Social Security tax)
    • 6.65% employer contribution up to annual maximum of $1,868.65
  • Deferred Compensation & Roth 457
  • Sick Leave Accruals (12 days per year)
  • Vacation Accruals (3-6 weeks based on time worked w/ the District)
  • Holidays: 9 observed holidays and 4 floating holidays
  • Life Insurance w/ ability to obtain additional coverage
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
  • Survivor Benefits through BART
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Flexible Spending Accounts: Health and Dependent Care
  • Commuter Benefits
  • Free BART Passes for BART employees and eligible family members.


Closing Date/Time: 7/15/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

The BART story began in 1946. It began not by governmental fiat, but as a concept gradually evolving at informal gatherings of business and civic leaders on both sides of the San Francisco Bay. Facing a heavy post-war migration to the area and its consequent automobile boom, these people discussed ways of easing the mounting congestion that was clogging the bridges spanning the Bay. In 1947, a joint Army-Navy review Board concluded that another connecting link between San Francisco and Oakland would be needed in the years ahead to prevent intolerable congestion on the Bay Bridge. The link? An underwater tube devoted exclusively to high-speed electric trains.

Since 1911, visionaries had periodically brought up this Jules Verne concept. But now, pressure for a traffic solution increased with the population. In 1951, the State Legislature created the 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 was to study the Bay Area's long range transportation needs in the context of environmental problems and then recommend the best solution.

The Commission advised, in its final report in 1957, that any transportation plan must be coordinated with the area's total plan for future development. Since no development plan existed, the Commission prepared one itself. The result of their thoroughness is a master plan which did much to bring about coordinated planning in the Bay Area, and which was adopted a decade later by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).

The BART Concept is Born
The Commission's least-cost solution to traffic tie-ups was to recommend forming a five-county rapid transit district, whose mandate would be to build and operate a high-speed rapid rail network linking major commercial centers with suburban sub-centers.

The Commission stated that, "If the Bay Area is to be preserved as a fine place to live and work, a regional rapid transit system is essential to prevent total dependence on automobiles and freeways."

Thus was born the environmental concept underlying BART. Acting on the Commission's recommendations, in 1957, the Legislature formed the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, comprising the five counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo. At this time, the District was granted a taxing power of five cents per $100 of assessed valuation. It also had authority to levy property taxes to support a general obligation bond issue, if approved by District voters. The State Legislature lowered the requirement for voter approval from 66 percent to 60 percent.

Between 1957 and 1962, engineering plans were developed for a system that would usher in a new era in rapid transit. Electric trains would run on grade-separated right-of-ways, reaching maximum speeds of 75-80 mph, averaging perhaps 45 mph, including station stops. Advanced transit cars, with sophisticated suspensions, braking and propulsion systems, and luxurious interiors, would be strong competition to "King Car " in the Bay Area. Stations would be pleasant, conveniently located, and striking architectural enhancements to their respective on-line communities.

BART employees in the 1970s

BART employees in the 1970s.

Hundreds of meetings were held in the District communities to encourage local citizen participation in the development of routes and station locations. By midsummer, 1961, the final plan was submitted to the supervisors of the five District counties for approval. San Mateo County Supervisors were cool to the plan. Citing the high costs of a new system-plus adequate existing service from Southern Pacific commuter trains - they voted to withdraw their county from the District in December 1961.

With the District-wide tax base thus weakened by the withdrawal of San Mateo County, Marin County was forced to withdraw in early 1962 because its marginal tax base could not adequately absorb its share of BART's projected cost. Another important factor in Marin's withdrawal was an engineering controversy over the feasibility of carrying trains across the Golden Gate Bridge.

BART had started with a 16-member governing Board of Directors apportioned on county population size: four from Alameda and San Francisco Counties, three from Contra Costa and San Mateo, and two from Marin. When the District was reduced to three counties, the Board was reduced to 11 members: four from San Francisco and Alameda, and three from Contra Costa. Subsequently, in 1965, the District's enabling legislation was changed to apportion the BART Board with four Directors from each county, thus giving Contra Costa its fourth member on a 12-person Board. Two directors from each county, hence forth, were appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. The other two directors were appointed by committees of mayors of each county (with the exception of the City and County of San Francisco, whose sole mayor made these appointments).

The five-county plan was quickly revised to a three-county plan emphasizing rapid transit between San Francisco and the East Bay cities and suburbs of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The new plan, elaborately detailed and presented as the "BART Composite Report, " was approved by supervisors of the three counties in July 1962, and placed on the ballot for the following November general election.

The plan required approval of 60 percent of the District's voters. It narrowly passed with a 61.2 percent vote District-wide, much to the surprise of many political experts who were confident it would fail. Indeed, one influential executive was reported to have said: "If I'd known the damn thing would have passed, I'd never have supported it. "

The voters approved a $792 million bond issue to finance a 71.5 mile high-speed transit system, consisting of 33 stations serving 17 communities in the three counties. The proposal also included another needed transit project: rebuilding 3.5 miles of the San Francisco Municipal Railway. The new line would link muni streetcar lines directly with BART and Market Street stations, and four new Muni stations would be built.

The additional cost of the transbay tube -- estimated at $133 million -- was to come from bonds issued by the California Toll Bridge Authority and secured by future Bay Area Bridge revenues. The additional cost of rolling stock, estimated at $71 million, was to be funded primarily from bonds issued against future operating revenues. Thus, the total cost of the system, as of 1962, was projected at $996 million. It would be the largest single public works project ever undertaken in the U.S. by the local citizenry.

After the election, engineers immediately started work on the final system designs, only to be halted by a taxpayer's suit filed against the District a month later. The validity of the bond election, and the legality of the District itself, were challenged. While the court ruled in favor of the District on both counts, six months of litigation cost $12 million in construction delays. This would be the first of many delays from litigation and time-consuming negotiations involving 166 separate agreements reached with on-line cities, counties, and other special districts. The democratic processes of building a new transit system would prove to be major cost factors that, however necessary, were not foreseen.

 

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