BART announces 8 more stations receiving new gates to thwart fare evasion
SAN FRANCISCO – BART on Thursday announced its next batch of stations to receive new fare gates, as it seeks to roll out a new design aimed at thwarting fare evaders.
According to the agency, the new gates will be installed at four stations in San Francisco: Civic Center, Powell Street, Montgomery and 24th Street Mission. The remaining stations include San Francisco International Airport, Fruitvale station in Oakland, Richmond and Antioch.
"There's still definitely an issue with fare evasion," said Leticia Harris, who relies on BART daily.
Especially at Civic Center station, where CBS News Bay Area met her while she was heading to work near City Hall.
"I've had people getting exceptionally close to me to rely on my fare and push through the turnstile, which is uncomfortable," Harris said.
But very soon, these fare gates will be replaced with new entry gates.
"It's important. I think we can rely on public safety to do their part, but I understand that they're burdened with many things, so I think having another system of protection within BART to prevent fare evasion might be helpful," she said.
The gates are currently being tested by riders at the West Oakland station, which installed the gates last month. BART seeks to install the new gates at all stations by the end of 2025.
"We needed a little more time here at West Oakland to fine-tune these gates because there's still a little bit of a delay when you tap your card to when the gate opens, and we're still working on some of those things," said Debora Allen of the BART Board of Directors.
According to Allen, the gates are more than 7 feet tall, leaving little room for people trying to cheat the system.
"With all of this, we still won't stop 100% of the fare evasion, but we will stop most of it, which will go a long way in bringing the riders back and, by substantially reducing the fee evasion, also reduce the maintenance cost, and the lawlessness, and we increase the cleanliness and most importantly, more revenue," she said.
Riders can expect these changes at other stations by May or June.
With the recent changes, Harris thinks BART is stepping up.
"The conditions are improving. I've seen some cars that have been refurbished," said Harris.