BART continues to face criticism over rampant drug use in stations, dirty needles being left on the floor and homeless people sleeping in the hallways and in trains.
Many passengers have taken to social media to raise their concerns. And now BART is responding.
The Powell Street station in San Francisco is one of the stations that has come under heavy criticism by passengers, especially on social media.
As promised, BART has stepped up to tackle the growing number of passenger concerns, including homeless people camped out, or passed out, at stations.
BART promised to sweep through stations, clearing out the homeless. The Powell Street station in one of the places where homeless people come to seek shelter.
As BART maintenance staff came through Monday, the men were told to pack up and head out.
"Yes, I feel like they’ve been definitely keeping it cleaner, and the workers that (they have hired) thus far, they are doing a great job," a passenger named Diamond said.
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BART police have been busy rounding up homeless folks and escorting them out. Some passengers describe a cleaner station as making them feel safer.
"I do feel a lot more comfortable knowing that it’s clean," visitor Meldrid Esren said. "Sometimes if you go to a station and it’s not, you don’t feel very safe. I know that it’s kind of unrelated, but the cleanliness does make (it feel) more safe."
Not all BART passengers are satisfied.
"I’d rather have it be nice than a dump," passenger Nico Aromin said. "I feel like it’s getting a little better, but it's not so consistent."
Daniel Patton, visiting from New York City, said he appreciates the extra staff helping with station upkeep. But he says the homeless issue is unacceptable, especially for a world class city like San Francisco.
"There is really only so much you can do before it starts to break down the infrastructure of the station itself," he said.
BART did not respond to requests for comment about its stepped up enforcement.
