The Bay Area Council’s survey on BART, conducted over several months and 1,000 interviews, reveals a split opinion on the transit system. 

Only 17% of frequent BART riders feel safe on the transit system and 45% of people who do not ride BART say it’s because they do not feel safe.

The survey shows that 53% of residents know of someone who has been a victim of crime on BART, 46% say they have witnessed a crime on BART, and 18% say they have been a victim of crime on BART. Meanwhile, 44% of BART riders said they have never or rarely seen a police officer.

Other key findings include:

• 79% say they feel more comfortable riding BART when there is a uniformed police officer or security present
• 73% say BART should prioritize adding more uniformed police on trains and in stations 
• 79% say BART should eject people from the system that violate the passenger code of conduct, which prohibits drugs, smoking, drinking, and other illegal or unacceptable behavior 
• 65% say BART should focus on core operations and leave social service issues to other public agencies 
• 90% put a high priority on more frequent cleaning.

Just as the results of the survey were released, a man armed with a meat cleaver on an eastbound BART train slashed a fellow passenger in the back before attempting to steal the victim’s backpack the moving train was in the Transbay Tube, according to transit officials.