Friday, August 29, 2014

Have you tried the new BART Watch App?? Does that mean more delays due to 'police activities?'

I immediately downloaded the new BART Watch app because I wasn't confident that BART (or its vendor) could make an app that was easy enough to use even in offline situations.  I have to applaud them, however, for finally realizing that publicly announcing a suspicious character using the train-wide intercom to speak with the operator, is not exactly the smartest nor safest way to report crime.

I was searching for a crime to report via the app yesterday but didn't see anything that would warrant police attention. (Side note: I almost reported a drunken homeless man in Montgomery Station masturbating as a crime but decided not to get myself involved with that)

Have any of you tried it yet?  I also question whether this will mean more stopped/delayed trains due to 'police activities'?  What is the vetting process here?  Will every crime reported by checked out?

The app does appear to be very easy to use, which is great.  Safety is important but if numerous fake reports cause constant delays, I will be so annoyed.