SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) — Looking for something to read on BART? The transit agency has installed dispensers at the Richmond, Fruitvale and Pleasant Hill stations that spit out short stories for free.

The Pleasant Hill BART station is one of three stations with a new short-story dispenser offering free printed reading material to passengers. (Dan Brekke/KQED)

These days, most BART riders spend their travel time staring at their phones—and understandably so. In an increasingly digitized world accelerated by the isolation of the pandemic, our lives have migrated almost entirely online. But now, BART riders are able to use touchless Short Story Dispensers to receive free one-, three- and five-minute reads at Richmond, Fruitvale, and Pleasant Hill Stations, with another one coming soon to Montgomery Street Station. Local writers will have the chance to have their work published and distributed as part of the project after the one-year pilot, sponsored by the BART Communications Department and Art Program, is up and running.

Riders using the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in San Francisco will be able to read stories freely dispensed by kiosks under a partnership between the agency and Short Edition, according to a CBS SF report.

BART installed a short story dispenser at four stations. This image shows the one installed at Pleasanton Station. (Photo courtesy of BART).

BART has installed Short Story Dispensers at some of its stations, including the Richmond station. The touchless dispensers print out short stories for riders to read — for free. The stories are short reads, roughly one to three to five minutes long, and are printed on recyclable receipt paper, according to BART.

Short story dispensers print 5-minute reads for travelers. (Oakland International Airport)

Put down your phone and find a seat. It’s time to print out a free short story and read it while you wait for your flight. Last month, Oakland International Airport unveiled two short-story dispensers for passengers in both its terminals.

Oakland International Airport (OAK) is partnering with innovative French company Short Édition to provide free Short Story Dispensers to engage passengers while they wait for flights.

Photograph courtesy of Calgary Public Library.

Located beside Lukes inside the new Central Library, the short story dispenser offers one-minute, three-minute and five-minute stories on demand. When you order a latte at Lukes inside the new Central Library, consider whether you’d like a one-minute, three-minute, or five-minute story with it.

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Chaque jour, un million de voyageurs empruntent les grandes gares franciliennes.Quel meilleur lieu pour faire passer un message? Le 70e anniversaire de la signature de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme, le 10 décembre 2018, est l'occasion de réunir les citoyens autour des trente articles de la charte qui représente «l'idéal commun à atteindre par tous les peuples et toutes les nations».

Se per caso quest’estate vi trovaste nella metropolitana di Londra, all’aeroporto internazionale Charles De Gaulle di Parigi, oppure in vacanza a Singapore, in Australia o addirittura negli Stati Uniti, potreste imbattervi negli Short Story Dispenser, i distributori automatici di racconti.

French creation, the short story dispenser, are now springing up around the world.

The Short Story Dispenser was invented by Short Edition, a French publishing house. Since 2015, the machines have been dispensing short stories on receipt paper that range from one to five minute reads, free of charge.

Picture: Sean Pollock/Cover Imagesvending

We’re sure you know the pain of sitting on public transport with nothing to read. Your eyes dart around for somewhere to rest. You try desperately to avoid eye contact with other passengers. You look at your phone, but it’s died, and your soul has passed on with it.
Thankfully someone’s come up with a solution – other than re-reading the same real estate advert for your entire journey.