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On Thursday, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) unveiled a new "Free2Read & Ride" book-lending machine at Millbrae Station to offer riders access to library books.

Riders with library cards from the Peninsula Library System can use the machine, which uses a robotic arm to hand the rider his or her chosen book from among 500 available titles.

“Offering these types of amenities is one of the ways we can encourage more people to use public transportation,” said BART President Bob Franklin in a prepared statement.

BART operates a similar program in the East Bay, but Millbrae is the first West Bay station to land a library machine. BART was the first transit agency in the country to offer a library book service, starting with its “Library-a-Go-Go” in May 2008 at the Pittsburg/Bay Point station, according to the agency.