The Cutest, Most Lovable BART Train in Bay Area History Is Celebrating 20 Years

In all my decades of grungy Bay Area living, I’ve never once heard anyone refer to BART as “cute.”

Ugly? Sure. Smelly? Most certainly. But is riding BART cute? E-40 voice: Nope.

This lack of friendly charm is probably why, 20 years ago, BART introduced the BARTmobile: a 6-foot-tall, 704-pound train replica that tours around the region as a form of cheery brand promotion.

The most lovable BART train, the BARTmobile celebrates its “20th Birthday” on Saturday, July 27, at Orinda BART Station. Event-goers (birthday party guests?) will be able to ride the BARTmobile — a rare opportunity — while live music, vendors, carnival games, face painting, stickers, cupcakes and temporary tattoos will all be provided for free.

In case you’ve never seen it out in public or at a hometown parade, the BARTmobile is a bright-eyed, squeezable-cheeked character with a zany backstory that dates back to Halloween of 2001. Its now-inactive Twitter account delivered the kind of energy you would expect from a sleepless, overenthusiastic camp counselor: “While my siblings are stuck on the rails, I get to travel on roads and trucks and entertain people at parades and other public events! I love my life!”

The BARTmobile was the brainchild of Doug Bartlett, a former BART Principal Marketing Representative, who originally “set out to make the most fantastical, most adorable, most kid-friendly BARTmobile possible.”

With the collective help of a playwright, a carpenter, a designer and a George Lucas-founded, Marin-based visual effects company that contributed to the making of Star Wars, BART’s “roving mascot” was born inside a Bay Area garage in 2004. 

With an imaginative application of plywood, polyurethane, fiberglass, a golf cart and a steel chassis — and with inspiration derived from the 1958 Volkswagen bus — the BARTmobile even included a functional BART train horn.

Since, the ebullient little engine has appeared at Golden State Warriors championship celebrations, St. Patrick’s Day, the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade and more.

Beyond celebrating BART’s Thomas the Engine-esque mascot, Saturday’s event is meant to encourage the use of public transit in the Bay Area. With BART’s recent debut of five unique anime characters, it’s made strides in appealing to a younger, more diverse crowd of riders.

Am I a fan? E-40 voice: Yup.

The BARTmobile’s ‘20th Birthday’ is celebrated on Saturday, July 27, at Orinda BART Station (11 Camino Pablo, Orinda). Free.