BART required to keep elevators, escalators in good shape

BART is now required to do a better job of keeping its station elevators from breaking down - and keeping them clean.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - BART is now required to do a better job of keeping its station elevators and escalators from breaking down - and keeping them clean.

The legal order from a federal judge is part of a settlement from a class action lawsuit.

BART has 87 elevators system-wide that can take people up to the platforms. All of its stations also have escalators.

As part of a settlement from a class action suit brought by Disability Rights Advocates and Legal Aid at Work, BART is now required to come up with a plan to renovate and update all of those escalators and elevators.

Under this agreement, BART is also required to dispatch a repair person within an hour if an elevator or escalator at its stations breaks down.

The lawsuit was filed in 2017, claiming that BART was violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by not maintaining its elevators and escalators.

BART did not accept any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The agency has to pay $825,000 in attorneys fees to the groups who brought the lawsuit.

In a statement, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the agency has been a "pioneer" in ensuring access to all of its riders, and was the first "100-percent accessible public transit system in the nation."

Trost said that BART has an "unwavering commitment to meet the needs of everyone regardless of their level of mobility."

To that end, Trost said BART is now "advancing a series of improvements" to elevators, escalators, training, and accessible path signage.