BART considering whether to supply riders with masks

When a fivecounty Bay Area mask order took effect Wednesday morning, BART police Officer Keith Garcia stood at the fare gates in Dublin Station for four hours, enforcing the new rules.

If passengers came in barefaced, he told them to find a covering — now mandatory on transit to stave off the spread of the coronavirus. Some riders scrounged through bags and purses and retrieved a scarf or cloth bandanna. Nobody put up an argument. BART was fairly lenient the first day, said Garcia, who is also president of the agency’s Police Officers Association.

But on Friday, officers faced a quandary. They had to tell everyone to wear a mask — and eject anyone who refused — but the counties and agency hadn’t provided them with masks to hand out. Officers wanted to avoid confrontations. The union broached the possibility of supplying masks with money from union dues, an idea Garcia rejected because he feared officers would be vulnerable to accusations of bias if they couldn’t hand out coverings to every single passenger.

“When it was presented to me, I said, ‘I have to take care of my members,’ ” Garcia said. “I don’t want to get a biasbased policing charge because an officer gives a mask to one person, and not another.”

Ultimately, the union may buy masks for certain officers — like the ones assigned to ride trains — who interact with a wide range of passengers. It’s a patchwork solution as the rail system tackles a much larger problem.

BART, now down to 6% of the weekday riders it carried before the pandemic, needs to lure people back when the economy reopens. To do that, police and other officials have to instill perceptions that the rail system is safe. Requiring that everyone wear a mask will help, Garcia said.

Board President Lateefah Simon agrees. She’s adamant that BART comply with the public health orders.

“Yes, everyone should be allowed to use public transportation — yes, it’s a human right,” Simon said. “But frankly, cover your face. Folks have literally been asked to take off a jacket and cover their face . ... This public health order is not negotiable.”

When the order first came down last week, Simon ran through her Rolodex, calling local mayors and mask suppliers until she found a company that could ship enough masks for BART’s workforce. At Thursday’s board meeting, agency staff announced they had ordered 300,000 protective coverings, a mix of N95s, cloth masks and surgical masks, plus a few homemade ones.

“Once we have ensured we have adequate supplies in stock to maintain having all employees wear masks, we can work through the process of providing masks to officers to be able to hand out if needed,” spokeswoman Alicia Trost said in an email. “For the most part, people have been able to find something to cover their face. But the option to be able to provide something for those that don’t is something we would like to do if we can get enough supplies and only after we have sufficient inventory for employees.”

Even so, protective equipment constitutes a significant investment for the rail system that stands to lose $37 million a month, as fares and parking revenues crater. Several officials said they are torn on whether to extend BART’s mask supply to all riders. Both Simon and Director Debora Allen said the counties that issued the order should step up first and distribute masks to public agencies. Perhaps a few nonprofits could help, Allen suggested.

They hope that riders will follow the rules voluntarily. Although it’s a misdemeanor to not wear a mask on public transit, agencies haven’t developed protocols or trained officers on how to handle violations. Allen hopes to spare BART’s police force for more serious crimes.

“I’m not really in favor of our limited resources in BART Police Department being devoted to mask policing,” she said.

Garcia also hopes to avoid confrontations.

“It’s a misdemeanor crime, yes,” he said. “But that’s not the goal. The goal is to have everyone wear a mask.”