Editing Bay Area Rapid Transit (section)

=== Crime ===
In mid-2017, BART came under criticism for refusing to publicly release video evidence of crimes committed at Oakland stations. That year, in at least three incidents, groups of young people had boarded stopped trains and attacked and robbed train riders.<ref name="surveillance article">{{Cite news |last=Caen |first=Melissa |date=July 9, 2017 |title=BART Withholding Surveillance Videos of Crime to Avoid 'Stereotypes' |publisher=CBS San Francisco |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/07/09/bart-withholding-surveillance-videos-of-crime-to-avoid-stereotypes/}}</ref>
In response to the criticism, a BART manager argued that "to release these videos would create a high level of racially insensitive commentary toward the district [...] and in addition it would create a racial bias in the riders against minorities on the trains." According to an internal memo, the agency decided to not issue a press release about one of the cases (where a woman had her phone stolen by one of a group of teenagers) in order to avoid having BART look "crime ridden" and because it would "unfairly affect and characterize riders of color, leading to sweeping generalizations in media reports."<ref name="surveillance article" /> A spokesman also stated that state laws about "juvenile police records" prohibited BART from releasing surveillance video.<ref name="surveillance article" />

In 2018, BART released surveillance video from one of the 2017 incidents, showing (as summarized by [[KRON-TV|KRON4]]) "the moments leading up to a mob-style attack on a BART train [... with] about 40 teens jumping the fare gates and pushing through the emergency gates at the station as an overwhelmed station agent calls for help."<ref name="Kelly 2018">{{Cite web |date=2018-09-25 |title=WATCH: Video shows moments before BART mob attack in Oakland |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/watch-video-shows-moments-before-bart-mob-attack-in-oakland/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=KRON4 |language=en-US}}</ref> BART stated that two juveniles and an 18-year-old had been arrested for the incident, with the 18-year-old ending up serving one year in jail.<ref name="Kelly 2018" /> In September 2017, six victims of the robberies/assaults filed suit against BART for gross negligence, claiming BART did not provide adequate security for its riders.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ruggiero |first=Angela |date=September 14, 2017 |title=BART mob robbery: Six victims sue transit agency over brazen attacks |work=The East Bay Times |url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/09/14/bart-mob-robbery-six-victims-sue-transit-agency-over-brazen-attacks/}}</ref> In January 2020, two passengers affected by the same incident lost their lawsuits, one of them on the grounds that she had been attacked on the platform rather than on the train, outside of BART's [[common carrier]] duties.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=2020-01-18 |title=BART not responsible for safety of passenger on platform, court rules |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-not-responsible-for-safety-of-passenger-on-14985051.php |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Henry |date=2020-01-20 |title=TV news report on KTVU |url=https://twitter.com/henrykleektvu/status/1217630496428978176 |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref>

On July 22, 2018, [[Murder of Nia Wilson|a man fatally stabbed 18-year-old Nia Wilson]] with a knife as she exited a train car at the [[MacArthur station (BART)|MacArthur station]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 23, 2018 |title=BART Investigating 3 Homicides in Less Than a Week |publisher=CBS San Francisco |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/07/23/bart-investigating-three-homicides-in-less-than-a-week/}}</ref> This was the third homicide at a BART station within five days.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Don |date=July 23, 2018 |title=3 killed in 5 days at BART stations. Official calls it an 'anomaly' |work=The Sacramento Bee |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article215392800.html}}</ref> In June 2019, the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury released a report documenting a 128% increase in thefts on BART between 2014 and 2018, and an 83% increase in aggravated assault during the same time period.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swan |first=Rachel |date=June 25, 2019 |title=Violent crime on BART more than doubles in four years |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Violent-crime-on-BART-doubles-in-four-years-14039170.php |access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref>
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=== Racially biased design ===
{{pov section|date=February 2023|talk=Alleged racially biased design}}
In the 1960s, BART was designed to speed white suburban commuters past minority urban neighborhoods. For example, it has stop spacing of {{convert|2.75|mi}} in the racially diverse and dense urban neighborhood of [[San Antonio, Oakland, California|San Antonio, Oakland]], but {{convert|1.75|mi}} in majority-white suburban Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill.<ref name="kinder">{{cite web |last1=Spieler |first1=Christof |title=Racism has shaped public transit, and it's riddled with inequities |url=https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/racism-has-shaped-public-transit-and-its-riddled-inequities |website=Kinder Institute for Urban Research - Rice University |access-date=October 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pettigrew |first1=Thomas F. |title=Racial discrimination in the United States |date=1975 |publisher=Harper & Row |location=New York |isbn=9780060451837 |page=398 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ECd2AAAAMAAJ&q=rapid%20transit}}</ref> -->

BART has historically suffered from fare evasion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M57RY58fuI|title=BART Fare Evasion Remains Rampant Despite Crackdown|date=February 21, 2019 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> Prior police crackdowns have occurred, but have not curbed the issue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/transportation/barts-new-gates/3371906/|title=BART's new gates aimed at stemming costly fare evasion|first=Kris|last=Sanchez • •|date=November 15, 2023}}</ref> An estimated 448 calls per month are made to BART police regarding fare evaders, and riders have observed that, at times, there are more fare evaders than paying customers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Monthly Chief Report |url=https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2023-02%20Monthly%20Chief%27s%20Report%20CRB%2003312023.pdf |website=www.bart.gov}}</ref> In April 2023, BART announced plans to install new gates resistant to fare evasion. The project, which was projected to cost $90 million, began with a pilot program at West Oakland station.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/fare-gate|title=New Fare Gates & Station Hardening &#124; Bay Area Rapid Transit|website=www.bart.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bart-offers-preview-of-new-fare-gates/|title=BART offers preview of new fare gates|date=November 15, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://missionlocal.org/2023/08/bart-awards-contract-for-new-anti-fare-evasion-gates/|title=BART awards contract for new anti-fare-evasion gates|first=Gilare|last=Zada|date=August 7, 2023|website=Mission Local}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fermoso |first1=Jose |title=BART's new 'hardened' fare gates get mixed reactions from West Oakland riders |url=https://oaklandside.org/2024/01/26/barts-new-hardened-fare-gates-get-mixed-reactions-from-west-oakland-riders/ |access-date=27 May 2024 |work=The Oaklandside |date=26 January 2024}}</ref>