San Francisco

[thatguy]

BART-Man is the public transit hero the Bay Area needs
Dan Gentile, SFGATE
May 4, 2021Updated: May 4, 2021 7:29 a.m.

BART-man make way!

BART unveils cool anime mascots to woo youth riders

Rusty Blazenhoff 2:11 pm Fri  May 26, 2023 
[img=742x0]https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Anime-BART.png?fit=1&resize=620%2C4000&ssl=1[/img]
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a public transportation system in the San Francisco Bay Area, has found a fun new way to appeal to youth riders. Answering an open call for anime mascot designs, local artists sent in a over 500 submissions. The winning five designs draw inspiration from local Bay Area characters, like Pac-Man, the Harris hawk employed to shoo away pigeons, the grazing goats that eat away at overgrown BART properties, and the hardworking frontline workers of BART itself.
KRON:

BART's anime mascots include:

• "Baylee The GOAT," a "star online influencer" inspired by the goats BART hires to graze the East Bay hills
  
  
• "Nimus Bard of BART," a "historian with a hawk companion," inspired by Pac-Man the hawk
  
  
• "Jasmine #1 Transit Fan," inspired by BART fans who attended last year's 50th anniversary celebrations
  
  
• "Mira the Train Operator," a train operator character inspired by actual BART train operators
  
  
• "BARTY," an R2-D2-type character inspired by BART's legacy fleet
  

If you're in the San Jose, California area this weekend, you can meet the new mascots:

BART's anime mascots will make their formal debut at FanimeCon, a popular anime convention held at McEnery Convention Center in Downtown San Jose from May 26 to 29. BART staff will be tabling at the convention and will have BART-themed anime merchandise, promotional tickets, collectible charms and postcards, and more. 

—tg