As BART prepares to phase in its new Bombarider fleet, the organization has begun to solicit suggestions from the public on what to do with its legacy fleet 669 cars. Suggestions from the public have ranged from transforming the cars into homeless shelters or tiny homes, to play structures and sculptural installations. An imaginative rendering by Berkeley designer Alfred Twu (B.A. Architecture '06) envisioned stacking the cars Jenga-style within a concrete frame, into single-unit “aBARTments.” 

“The concept is not meant to be super-realistic,” Twu said, noting that BART cars would probably make more sense as backyard in-law units, which wouldn’t require heavy-duty engineering.

While cost-effectiveness and financial obligations to the Federal Transit Administration limit what can be done with the cars, the question of what to do with the fleet will become an increasingly pressing issue, as the agency's storage space reaches capacity.

The organization plans to complete the phasing out process by 2023.