For the rest of the month, public announcements at BART stations will include the voices of youth on the autism spectrum.

BART officials said the special PA announcements began Thursday, playing every 15 minutes to mark Autism Acceptance Month in April, and include voices of some of BART trains’ biggest fans.

Cameron Clay, 19, and other youth were invited to put their own spin on their announcements, such as:

“Hi, BART riders. I’m Cameron Clay. I love BART because the trains are so fast. I like riding through the Transbay Tube. Happy Autism (Acceptance) Month.”

Max Reese, 9, said he appreciated BART because “I get to go on these amazing adventures with my family” and it helps people “go to work on time and not miss out on anything or get fired.”

His favorite part of the day spent at BART recording and exploring was “basically everything,” Max said.

“The moment the school bell rang, I was dashing out of that school to go here,” he said.

“Transit is a place where many of these children feel safe, engaged and understood.”
Jonathan Trichter, Autism Transit Project founder

Jonathan Trichter, who created the Autism Transit Project in 2022, said children with autism often have a special affinity for trains.

“Frontline workers see it every day,” Trichter said. “They see these kids who drag their parents onto trains for joy rides or who ask questions so detailed they stump your seasoned operators! Transit is a place where many of these children feel safe, engaged and understood.”

For some children on the autism spectrum, the first full sentence they ever speak is a transit announcement, Trichter said.

Other participating agencies this year include New Jersey Transit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

For the annual event, participants and their families spent an afternoon at BART headquarters to record the announcements and learn about the system.

Employees gave presentations and answered questions about the inner workings of the agency, while engineers and transportation staff set up booths around the room with equipment the kids could touch and explore.

BART Director Victor Flores and BART Deputy General Manager Michael Jones were on hand, as well as BART Police dog Kygo and Pac-Man, the Harris hawk who helps BART with station pigeon abatement.

The participants’ announcements can be heard on BART’s website.