BART's new crackdown on fare evaders shows positive results

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTVU) - BART released results from its new a pilot program aimed at cracking down on fare evaders.  

Since Apr. 3  the transit agency has deployed 16 officers to the four downtown stations in San Francisco during the weekday morning commute.  

The increased police presence appears to be having an impact.  In the weeks since the program's inception,  ticket sales have gone up 10 percent and police calls have gone down by 50 percent.

BART spokesman Chris Filippi said the transit agency is studying the results closely.  
    
“We've seen an increase of about a third in the number of people adding to their clippers or their paper tickets, so we are seeing some impacts from this,” Filippi said. “It's early on, but we're encouraged.”
 
Some BART passengers expressed concerns about increased surveillance but many others said they found the increased police presence reassuring.

“I pay so it really annoys me when I see people jumping the gates... hopefully it will cut down on the fare evaders,” said Joe Seitz of Livermore.

BART rider Karen Kauayani said, “It's frustrating to see people not paying the fare that you are so I'm glad they're taking steps to remediate the fare evasion.”

BART says as long as the program is working, the crackdown will continue indefinitely.