BART’s ‘existential’ troubles
From slouching toward San Jose to planning a second Transbay Tube, BART executives believe they’re hurtling toward a bigger, brighter future. But the view from the commuter rail’s seats, or more likely its cramped standing room, is not so sparkly.
Particularly in its urban core, BART’s stations can seem hopelessly plagued by filth, disorder and dysfunction. A recent surge in crime has compounded that sense. And the infrastructure is so frequently overwhelmed as to bring the idea of extending it into serious question.
BART management’s defensive response to such problems hasn’t helped. The agency has characterized perpetually broken escalators as standard, dismissed astronomical overtime bills for ineffectual services, and obfuscated a growing public safety problem. But Nicholas Josefowitz, a member of the system’s board of directors representing San Francisco, told The Chronicle’s editorial board Thursday that BART is determined to deal with such basic “quality of experience” problems even as it extends into new territory.
“Crime, cleanliness, fare evasion — I think a lot of people feel they’re really kind of existential issues for BART,” Josefowitz said. “It’s gotten a lot worse at BART, it’s gotten a lot worse around BART over the past few years, and we just can’t let it continue like that.”
Under scrutiny after a mob of youths attacked riders in Oakland, a crime kept under wraps for days, BART recently disclosed that robberies had jumped 45 percent, to 71, in the first quarter. While BART officials have emphasized that the number remains small given 433,000 average weekday trips, Josefowitz said surging crime causes delays and may be contributing to a ridership slump.
BART’s new police chief, Carlos Rojas, is working to increase officer visibility and focus on problem stations, Josefowitz said. The director also expects a fare evasion crackdown and more homeless outreach to improve security. Collaboration with police departments in the cities BART traverses would also help.
Meanwhile, the agency is providing more restrooms and re-evaluating janitorial services in an effort to clean up stations, Josefowitz said. And new cars premiering next year, along with power and train control upgrades, should ease crowding.
The director’s acknowledgment of BART’s shortcomings and promises to address them are refreshing. Riders deserve to hear the same from system executives led by General Manager Grace Crunican — who was expected to join Thursday’s meeting but didn’t — and, more important, to see results.