BART improvement poll brings light to service's many troubles

Devin Feheley reports on the results of a recent poll conducted that seems to identify several key issues currently affecting BART ridership. (5/9/2023)

[silvermica]

During the first week of March 2023 I took BART from San Jose to San Fransisco. There was a disruptive guy smoking cigarettes on the train and playing loud music. Then he began making aggressive moves toward a young adult woman. She came over to where I was sitting. It was then I suggested we move to the front of the train. One or two stops later the police boarded the train and I never saw that sorry excuse for a man again. I hate to say this - but it's all the homeless using the train as shelter. Other people have reported lewd acts and expelling of bodily fluids/solids inside the train. And that fact that people don't pay to ride BART just doesn't help. I'm sure the new BART fare gates will be equally ineffective. This is really sad - because I seriously enjoy riding BART from San Jose to Oakland or San Francisco - but, I have no desire to ride in fear of a physical altercation, inhale cigarette smoke, or heaven forbid inhale the smoke of dangerous and illegal drugs on the train.

[warrenleezy]

BART didn't need a poll, they just needed to review surveillance footage and riders' video. If groups of kids are boarding the train en masse and punching riders . . .

[lcba]

If Bart actually does something to stop fare gate jumpers, it will decrease 99% of the problem behaviors and criminal activities happening on the platforms and trains. Those who rob, harass, pass out, vandalize and shout for no reason don't pay for their rides.

[gosikh]

The problem is:
The Bart police has limited powers to remove someone.
Most trouble makers are riding for free. There is no accountability for those free riders or fare evaders

Calling Bart police delays trains and no one wants to be late.

There are roughly 50-60 stations, each station needs an officer or two.

[deballen]

Every news channel talking about "more money please" to make it all work. Mr. Feheley, you forgot to mention that BART could also become more efficient and cut costs. There is a ton of waste in the agency.

[DiabloValleyPeds]

Let’s spell it out: safety concerns = the homeless who are on BART.

[michaelwells]

Im Dam Tired of Paying my $10 wile I watch all these Youngsters just jump over the Gate, ...
We are supposed to be the High Tech Capital of the United States... But you can’t build a fare gate that works? ... that is how all the Criminals get onto the Train also... Du...

[KadnSJ]

Who cares about Bart “improvements “when you are risking your life to ride on that death train? There is absolutely no security on the trains, parking lots, and stations. Think about it; You get on one of those cars and you are held captive. Anything can happen and you are stuck. So not worth it☠️

[u.s.]

Public transport in the U.S. just sucks. Politicians need to visit Europe and Asia for a better example.

[gosikh]

Another problem is the amount of smoking, weed smoking and drinking happening on trains.

Let’s get some order on the trains, until then bart is just going to fail.

[ronaldmcdonald]

I used to ride BART, AMTRACK, CalTrans all the time
Plus used commuter trains all over the world
I am now concerned about BART

- On the train
- And crime at the stations and parking lots
- Had my battery stolen from my truck
- Car broken in at Glen Park station
- I am careful entering and departing stations.

[aeromtb]

its safety and cleanliness on top for years. its not rocket science.

[deballen]

BTW, about that BART PIO talking point of 8-18 new officers on the trains... the total numbers of officers haven't gone up. They just took them out of other patrol areas and put them on trains. And they aren't ALL police officers. Some are ambassadors (civilian workers in bright BART shirts armed with a radio and narcan, but with no enforcement authority), and some are crisis intervention specialists (workers hired to talk to the "people in crisis" and try to convince them to accept services that mostly don't exist). No net increase in police officers, but by putting them on trains they are a bit more visible.

[nikhilnagboth]

Even if we ignore the cleanliness and homeless issue, the Bart trains don't even run their entire route. Most of the time, there's some portion of the track that is broken in some way, forcing people to take a bus.

[brianp]

As a VTA driver, it is not worth trying to get a bad actor off the train or bus. Most of the time they refuse; when off, they just jump on the next bus/train anyways.

[weeziepuff]

I've traveled on mass transit all over the world and BART is one of the most disgusting experiences I've ever had in terms of quality and service. If BART management can't see what the problems are then I doubt a poll is going to wake them up.

[Justin_Yoshi_Lau]

I've seen homelessness in some of the stations and cleanliness issues (especially in some of the SF stations)

[rusty]

BART chose political correctness over public safety when they refused to release that video a few years ago. The organization is reaping what is has sewn.

[Awesome_Aasim]

Looking back, the flaw with BART is that it is designed to bring people from the suburbs to the city center. The reality is most do not need to go from the suburbs to the city center, but from suburb to suburb. You need good land use in order to get that.

[casienwhey]

There is a simple solution to the revenue issue, just force people who are currently using the trains to actually pay a fare.