Thanks very much Commenter! I need to add rtands to my bookmarks ...

Further confirms my suspicion that the rider's measurements show, not that the new cars aren't any quieter, but that BART has been addressing all aspects of the problem so all the cars are now quieter. The basic spin of the article (that the new cars aren't quieter so BART wasted taxpayer money as usual) is wrong because it doesn't account for other improvement work also done. But then, outside of the trade press, that spin is standard - take most articles about transit (and transportation in general) in the popular press with large piles of salt, expecting that key information is left out (at best).