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BART’s new safety initiatives appear to be having an impact on improving the rider experience through a sharp reduction in the number of incidents delaying train service. From May through October the number of trains negatively impacted by BART PD incidents has fallen by nearly 40%. The dramatic drop comes as BPD has boosted train patrols, the BART schedule was changed to emphasize shorter trains to boost safety, and other initiatives outlined in the Safe and Clean Plan have been implemented.

Here are the latest numbers:

*The number of BPD incidents causing delays fell from 374 in May to 295 in October.
*The number of trains impacted by BPD incidents declined from 1,144 in May to 694 in October.
*Total train minutes lost due to BPD incidents dropped from 9,878 in May to 6,380 in October.

“These numbers paint a picture of how our commitment to rider safety is paying off,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “Fewer delays due to BPD incidents not only shows safety is improving but it helps our on-time performance. This is a win-win for riders as we deliver on our commitment to ensure BART is the safest way to travel around the Bay.”

BPD doubled the number of officers on trains in March as part of BART’s Safe and Clean Plan. BART PD is using both traditional sworn officers as well as unarmed Crisis Intervention Specialists and Transit Ambassadors to boost its visible safety presence in the system. Trains were made even safer in September when BART’s reimagined schedule was launched. The new schedule allowed BART to eliminate near-empty train cars by shortening the least-crowded trains.

“The sharp decline in the number of trains being delayed due to BPD incidents is an important indicator that our new safety initiatives are making a difference, “said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin. “We are aggressively moving forward with our officer recruitment campaign and hope to boost our visible presence even more as we work hard to hire more cops.”

Safety on BART will get another boost in December when the first new fare gate prototypes will be installed at West Oakland Station. These new gates will be taller and stronger than the ones that have been in place for decades. They will deter fare evasion while also improving overall access by relying on high-tech sensors to provide safe access for riders in wheelchairs as well as those who are using strollers or luggage.

(November 3, 3:20pm update)

BART Police have arrested the suspect wanted in connection with a stabbing that occurred Saturday morning aboard an Antioch-bound train as it approached 24th Street/Mission Station. 34-year-old Jovany Portades was spotted by an alert Station Agent at Fruitvale Station Sunday at around 2pm. The Station Agent contacted BART Police who arrested the suspect without incident.

(November 3, 11am update)

BART Police investigators have identified the suspect wanted in connection with a stabbing that occured aboard an Antioch-bound train Saturday morning as it approached 24th Street/Mission Station. The suspect is 34-year-old Jovany Portades. One of BART's more than 4,000 surveillance cameras caught an initial iamge of suspect, which helped investigators to identify Portades. 

Anyone with information can call the BART Police Investigations anonymous tip line at (510) 464-7011. For urgent matters, call (510) 464-7000 or 9-1-1. Portades should be considered dangerous and members of the public should not approach him.

BART Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in an assault on a train this morning.

The suspect is described as a possible Asian male, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, with black braided hair wrapped in a knot on top of his head, a mustache, wearing a plain black jacket with orange liner, a black shirt with a large white logo, gray and black cargo style pants, brown and black boots, and carrying a black duffle bag. Investigators have released photos captured by one of BART’s more than 4,000 surveillance cameras.

The man is suspected of stabbing a 54-year-old woman in an unprovoked attack at about 8:10 a.m. aboard an Antioch-bound train as it approached 24th St./Mission Station.

The victim offboarded the train at 24th St./Mission Station and was assisted by a Station Agent until BART Police Officers arrived on the scene. The victim was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

BART closed the 24th St/Mission Station from about 8:40 to 9:25 am to collect evidence.

Anyone with information can call the BART Police Investigations anonymous tip line at (510) 464-7011. For urgent matters, call (510) 464-7000 or 9-1-1. 

On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, One Book One BART hosted an author talk with Hua Hsu, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the first BART book club selection, Stay True, moderated by award-winning writer, historian, and thinker Jeff Chang. Watch a recording of the talk below. 

To keep up with all things BART book club, visit bart.gov/bookclub, and sign up for the mailing list at the top of that page. 

Stay tuned for the launch of our next book club on Monday, September 18, 2023

The next book selection is Oakland-based author Margaret Sexton Wilkerson's "On the Rooftop." Reese Witherspoon called the novel, set in San Francisco's Fillmore District, "an utterly original and brilliant story."

Questions? Ideas? Suggestions? Email [email protected]. 

We look forward to reading with you! 

One Book One BART – the official BART book club – invites members of the public to a free, virtual author talk with Hua Hsu, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir and official book club selection, Stay True. The event, which marks the culmination of the Spring/Summer ‘23 One Book, One BART club, will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, August 2, at 4pm. A Q&A will follow the discussion.

The talk will be moderated by Jeff Chang, author of acclaimed book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, which was named one of the best U.S. nonfiction books of the last quarter century. His other books include Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post Civil Rights America and We Gon' Be Alright: Notes On Race and Resegregation. Chang has received the American Book Award, the Asian American Literary Award, and the USA Ford Fellowship in Literature.

When: Wednesday, August 2, 4pm to 5pm

Join the meeting online via Zoom (no registration required): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84824326758

For updates about upcoming One Book One BART events, including the launch of the Fall/Winter ’23 book club, visit bart.gov/bookclub.

Sign up for the One Book, One BART mailing list by visiting BART’s Profile Center and adding your information. On step 3 – “Manage Subscriptions” – click the caret next to “Other” and check the One Book, One BART box.   

Questions? Email [email protected].

BART’s reimagined schedule, which was rolled out on Monday, will be a boon for riders who want to travel around the Bay this weekend. The new service plan is designed to work for everyone, every day and means no BART rider will have to wait more than 20 minutes for a scheduled train no matter what hour of the day or what day of the week. 30-minute wait times between scheduled trains are now a thing of the past for BART on nights and weekends.

This Saturday and Sunday riders will notice the difference as they see more trains at their stations. Weekend service now has 20-minute service on all 5 lines until 9pm. And after 9pm 20-minute service on 3 lines will arrive at the same time every day of the week.

Examples of our boosted weekend service include:

*Richmond-MacArthur riders will now see 6 trains per hour instead of 4. 
*West Oakland-Daly City riders will get 12 trains per hour instead of 10 on Saturdays and 8 on Sundays. 
*Bay Fair-Berryessa riders will see their trains per hour increase from 4 to 6.
*Trains per hour are also increasing for our evening 3-line service, which begins every night at 9pm.

This Saturday is All Aboard Transit Day in celebration of Transit Month when everyone in the Bay Area is encouraged to try transit. Take as many transit trips as your heart desires this Saturday to help us beat the Saturday September 2022 ridership record. We will add up the total ridership for the day and report out to the public if we exceed the Saturday, September 2022 ridership, which was the highest ridership for a Saturday in September during Transit Month 2022.

On Saturday, BART will host "Meet the BART Anime Mascots" event at Powell Street Station from 2-6 pm. Take photos with the mascots, make buttons with staff, grab a prize from the BART capsule ball machine, and more! Come in cosplay and get a rare BART anime charm. The Link21 outreach team will also be there to talk about our project to build a second train crossing connecting Oakland and San Francisco. 

BART will also have special late-night service for the Ed Sheeran concert at Levi’s Stadium this Saturday. 

The new schedule, which began Monday, is already serving record numbers of riders. On Wednesday, BART carried 192,961 passengers – the most since the pandemic shelter-in-place orders were enacted in March 2020. Just a day before, Tuesday, September 12th, BART served 192,081 riders. The new schedule is responsive to post-pandemic commute patterns and ridership growth opportunities, with a new emphasis on weeknight and weekend service.