BART posts 23% drop in violent crime as Congressmember Simon visits Oakland stations

Congressmember Lateefah Simon tours Fruitvale Station.

BART’s efforts to put rider safety first are paying off with another drop in violent crime. For the first three months of the year violent crime on BART fell by 23% compared to last year. The latest drop comes on top of a 17% decline in overall crime on BART in 2024. 

BART’s efforts to enhance rider safety were a focus of a tour by East Bay Congressmember Lateefah Simon (CA-12) who visited the 19th Street and Fruitvale stations in Oakland. Congressmember Simon recently met with BART in Washington, D.C., and this visit was an opportunity to get an in-person update on the progress BART has made in recent months on rider-focused safety, cleanliness, and accessibility improvements. Congressmember Simon previously served as BART Board President and BART District 7 Board Member. 

“I believe that BART will be the nation’s safest transit institution,” said Congressmember Simon. “You know why? There are [transit-dependent] folks like me who don’t have a choice, who aren’t jiggling car keys. They are riding BART because unfortunately, mobility in many parts of the Bay Area is still a privilege. We’ve made it a right here at BART.”  

The implementation of BART’s Safe and Clean Plan has been at the forefront of putting rider safety first. The plan includes boosting visible train patrols, installing Next Generation Fare Gates, right-sizing trains to create safer spaces, improving station lighting, and other rider-focused initiatives.

“This steep decline in our violent crime rate would not be possible without the hard work of the people of the BART Police Department,” said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin. “We will continue to deploy sworn officers as well as non-sworn unarmed Crisis Intervention Specialists, Transit Ambassadors, Fare Inspectors, and Community Service Officers to maximize our presence in the system and ensure BART is welcoming for all.”

BART has already installed Next Generation Fare Gates at 29 stations and remains on track to have the new, more durable gates in place at all 50 stations by the end of this year. The new gates are improving the station environment by serving as a deterrent against many instances of fare evasion and reducing the amount of unwanted activity in the system. A recent survey found the number of riders who have reported seeing fare evasion on BART has dropped by almost 1/3 since installation work began for the new gates.