Bay Area Rapid Transit — or BART — was a brand new, cutting-edge transportation system when it opened in 1972. Since then, its reputation has become a bit less high-tech. And while riders hear a variety of voices making announcements throughout the BART system, there are two that sound different — robotic, synthesized voices, one male and one female, that sound like they are from yesteryear, like the voice of 1990s Microsoft Sam.
Why do trains running through communities at the heart of the AI boom sound like they’re from the first computers ever made? Why have these robotic announcements never been updated?
Passengers used to just wait
Before the late 1990s, BART had no live train information or announcements for passengers. There would occasionally be voiced announcements in the case of major disruptions, but on a regular day, riders would consult a paper schedule to see when a train was supposed to arrive. In the case of delays, riders would wait on the platform, without any information on when the train might actually come.
Then, in 2000, BART began using a new piece of technology…