Chaos in San Francisco After Metro System Failure – Newark Airport Also Affected

The metro system in San Francisco unexpectedly went offline on Friday morning (5/9/25), halting all trains and complicating the commute for thousands of workers. “Due to an IT system issue, service is suspended until further notice,” stated a message on the BART website, urging passengers to seek alternative transportation. Tens of thousands of commuters were forced to crowd onto buses, causing major congestion on the city’s famous bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge. Despite having one of the most developed public transportation networks in the U.S., with metros, buses, ferries, and iconic trams, the disruption affected approximately 174,000 daily commuters across 210 kilometers of rail lines. The issue seems to have arisen from how the IT system rebooted after routine maintenance, according to a representative speaking to local station ABC7. One commuter, Patrick Dan, complained to the San Francisco Chronicle about his delayed journey. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in New Jersey, the Newark airport faced its own issues as communications in the control tower handling incoming flights were disrupted due to a telecommunications system problem. This marks the second such failure in ten days, posing risks to thousands of air travelers arriving at one of the busiest airports in the U.S.