BART says its riders are more satisfied than they’ve been in more than a decade, which the agency attributed to its commitments on cleanliness and public safety.
The agency released findings from its quarterly performance report Thursday, as well as its annual passenger-experience survey. Rider satisfaction and overall ridership rose during the last three months of 2023, the agency said.
“We’ve made many improvements to reimagine the rider experience. From easy app-based payment to new escalators at our busy downtown stations, we’re proud of the gains we are making every day,” BART General Manager Bob Powers said in a statement. “Most importantly we’ve made a commitment to a cleaner, safer rider that guarantees BART remains the safest way to travel around the Bay.”
Eighty-one percent of riders told BART’s passenger experience survey that they were at least somewhat satisfied with the transit agency, which was up 7% from the preceding three months. BART’s separate, biennial customer-satisfaction survey last recorded at least 80% of passengers saying they were satisfied back in 2012.
Total ridership increased 9.2% over the last three months of 2022, according to data from the agency. BART’s average weekday ridership continues to hover around 40% of the pre-pandemic baseline, according to the agency’s latest monthly ridership report.
More BART passengers reported seeing the agency’s police officers. Roughly 20.3% of the riders who participated in the performance survey late last year said police were present in trains or stations, up from the previous record of 17% set from June to September 2023.
BART also reported that sexual harassment has declined on trains since early 2023. During the latest quarter, riders experiencing harassment fell to 7%, down from a high of 12% between January and June 2021.
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Several Bay Area groups have advocated BART prioritize and address safety concerns in its stations and aboard its trains. The agency has tasked its new police chief hired last fall, Kevin Franklin, with boosting the department’s presence and recruiting additional officers through competitive salaries. BART has also conducted tours of various stations to solicit passenger feedback on its efforts.
A 2023 Bay Area Council poll found that riders who stopped using BART would return if crime, safety and cleanliness were addressed. Concerns about crime eclipsed remote work as reasons for not riding, according to the findings. Of the more than 1,000 people surveyed, 79% said they feel more comfortable on trains when a uniformed officer or security guard were present. Another 73% said that the agency should prioritize adding more uniformed officers on trains.
Rufus Jeffris, the Bay Area Council’s senior vice president of communications, told The Examiner that ensuring public safety is one of the most important things the agency can do to bring riders back to the system.
“It’s very encouraging to see that the work BART is doing to increase police presence on its trains and in stations, conducting more frequent cleaning and installing new more secure fare gates is showing results,” he said.
“This work needs to continue, along with other strategies BART is adopting to better integrate service with other transit agencies to provide a seamless and convenient rider experience,” Jeffris added.
Since concerns were raised, BART launched its “Safe and Clean Plan.” Police patrols became more frequent while train cleanings became more thorough, among other measures taken to address riders’ needs. The agency has also run shorter trains and committed to the installation of new gates to deter fare evasion.
The gates, which make it harder for evaders to push through, jump over or maneuver under the barriers, will debut at five San Francisco BART stations this summer. BART hopes to have the infrastructure deployed throughout its entire network by the end of 2025.
