Not sure if it's because I left very early today, but my BART train was not crowded at all. However, I suspect it is because the system was a few minutes delay (less than 5) and the trains are not spread out by time properly. The train I hopped on arrived 4 minutes earlier (probably a delayed train from earlier) than anticipated, forcing me to sprint up the escalators and stairs. I barely made it on.
Having free BART today was nice but it definitely had its drawbacks and safety concerns. In my train car today was a group of very questionable characters who were literally harrassing passengers around them. They seemed like they were just taking a fieldtrip to nowhere- had no idea how the system worked nor where they are going.
They even ended up harrassing a larger woman, calling her fat, asking her how she got to be this **ckin large. They then started cussing at nearby passengers, asking them what they are looking at. A lot of passengers walked out of the car to another. Then, they started screaming, where the **ck you are going. It was actually a little scary. They looked like they could very well be carrying weapons.
Traffic on the freeway (24) looked like the normal level of congestion as of 7:50 AM. Maybe people are staying home to avoid significant delays?
5 comments:
How charming. I know it was awfully regressive of me, but after the first free BART "Spare the Air" day I made it a point to drive instead of take transit on future free days. Something about "free BART" that turns marginally civilized trains into rolling asshole conventions.
the words "free" can bring out all types in society. watch out. these a**holes on the train this morning sound like people fun. when BART is free, they should beef up security on the trains.
And I bet no one notifed the train operator, right? These are the kind of folks that BART police would like to meet. Tonight, I'm going to have my cell ready because last spare the air day, a couple of drunks threatened a bunch of passengers and no one did anything, including the station agent I called on the white courtesy phone.
Good idea. I am going to program the BART polic number into my phone before I leave work.
I make sure I have BART PD's number programmed into my cell phone for exactly this purpose: (877) 679-7000. A lot of these types of people rely on intimidation to get away with their shenanigans, so being able to subtly report the issue is helpful.
I really hope that BART comes to realize that the free rides all-day really does more harm than good in the eyes of their regular riders. Make rides free in the morning, or give us a free ride credit on our EZ Rider card...
Incidentally, my BART ride yesterday was smoother in both directions than I can recall in recent memory. Trains were fairly crowded, but seemed to be very timely. This morning was also very smooth. I hope that they keep up the good work.
Post a Comment