The latest numbers from the BART Police Department show as enforcement activity has increased, the number of trains impacted by unwanted behavior has declined. In the first six months of this year, BART PD reported 10,359 enforcement contacts, which is nearly double from the 5,490 enforcement contacts reported for the first half of 2023. The increase in activity comes as BART continues to implement its Safe and Clean Plan. A focal point of the plan has been a major boost in BART PD’s visible safety presence on trains and in stations supported by devoting additional resources to hire and retain more officers.
As enforcement contacts have increased, the number of trains impacted by unwanted activity has been trending downward since mid-2023. The number of BART PD incidents causing delays has dropped from a high of 374 in May 2023 to 255 in August.
“Our presence deters crime and allows us to address problems before they turn into incidents that cause train delays,” said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin. “I think this is very encouraging because it shows that our presence is a positive thing for on-time service and the safe and clean customer experience.”
More riders have been telling BART they notice the difference in safety since implementation of the new deployment strategy that emphasizes presence on trains and in stations. The last four consecutive quarters have been the first in BART’s history where the percentage of riders who reported seeing BART PD on their trips exceeded the department’s official goal of 12%. In the most recent quarter (Q4 2024), more than 19% of riders reported seeing BART PD’s safety presence.
Duh!
So if they’re not being delayed due to criminal behavior why are they being delayed? We see no change in timeliness. Also – what about the commitment to a minimum of 9 car car trains? We see most trains less than 9 car – they used to be 10 car trains!
i see bart trains only 2-3 train cars and it looks so funny like the special short bus but instead its like riding the special ed short train.
What commitment to minimum 9 car trains? With the new post-COVID schedule BART has been running 8 car trains on the yellow line every 10 minutes (up to Bay Point) and 6 car trains on all other lines every 20 minutes. Results in some overcrowding sometimes but not worse crowding than before 2020.
I guess that’s good news. I know these crazies that the police have to deal with often do delay trains and cause me to miss my connection. The other culprits are the street people and homeless that are lollygagging on the trains with all their personal effects keeping the doors from closing or blocking others.
Huh. Like science or something.
Just wait a minute. Are you saying that more policing means less crime? WHAT???? 🙄
Yeah, shocking, right?
Imagine that….
.
Perhaps Mayor Sheng Thao of Oakland gets a clue from BART?
Doubt it.
They should report how many of those ‘contacted’ are paying customers. Preventing people from riding the trains, that didn’t pay, will significantly improve the entire experience. I was at the Coliseum station the other day and six people were in line to push through the gate farthest from the station agent, unbelievable.
Last data I was given from 2019, BART won’t update the data. At tat time it was over 80% of arrests were of people with no proof of having paid a fare.
This is why those new fare gates that are impossible to jump over are so effective:
“Through June 2024, West Oakland saw nearly 120,000 more entries and exits compared with the same period in 2023. The 11% increase in entries and exits at West Oakland is nearly double the systemwide increase of 6%.”
(West Oakland was where they were installed first)
If only they would crack down on fare evaders. Those expensive new fare gates are more worthless than joe biden.
The purpose of the new fare gates is to cut down the incidents of fare evasion and it is working in the stations where the gates have been deployed. We have a long way to go to complete all of the stations, but the work is underway. The gates and railings alone won’t stop everyone, but the officers should be able to manage the rest once all gates are in.
“Through June 2024, West Oakland saw nearly 120,000 more entries and exits compared with the same period in 2023. The 11% increase in entries and exits at West Oakland is nearly double the systemwide increase of 6%.”
sounds like they’re working…
Took BART from SFO, 5PM on 9/18. Walked into a waiting car and was surprised to see a maintenance guy disinfecting the seats. There were also no bums or punks spotted throughout the trip.
A gate agent was helping people navigate the ticket machines as well!
Maybe things are getting better?
Thank you for that feedback. Our customer feedback is getting better, but it will take a lot to overcome the errors of the past 10 years. BART is now finally wholly committed to the rider experience given the horrble financial picture it faces.
Well go figure. Who ever could have dreamed that filling 20 of the 37 vacant police officer positions would improve things?!? Something I have been yelling from the rooftops since 2018!
Not all contacts lead to arrest. Most in fact are citations.
A cite is an arrest,ask any cop,they ate just let go with a court date