Bay Area Rapid Transit has doubled its police presence in recent months after a poll indicated a ridership slump may be in large part due to concerns of safety and cleanliness.
The transit agency announced Tuesday it recorded 258 arrests in March and 266 arrests in April, two of its highest monthly arrest totals since the pandemic began.
BART began increasing its police patrols on March 20. Seven transit police officers per shift were moved from their typical patrol around the station and onto the trains. The changes also include officers from the K9 units moving to train patrols and crime intervention specialists helping beef up security.
The BART police department is also offering a $15,000 hiring bonus to new officers to fill the its 31 vacancies.
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BART officials say they are keenly aware of the transit agency's perception problem and hope these steps to increases safety measures will change people's minds.
"I don't deny that people have a perception of a lack of safety right now. What our department is doing is trying to change that perception," said Kevin Franklin, BART's interim police chief. "The vast majority people that come to BART and ride the train have a very good experience on their trip. But there are still isolated incidents that occur in the system and we're working very hard to address these incidents."
Still unknown is whether ridership has increased in recent months since the changes were introduced or whether the increased security is enough to get people back on the trains.
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If ridership does not pick up there are concerns about whether the new plan will be financially sustainable.
