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BART to remain at "Orange" alert

BART Street Level Restrooms Are Now Open

For now, BART security will remain at an internal "Orange" alert level, despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has lowered the nation's transit alert level from an "Orange" to "Yellow." BART uses the federal government's alert levels simply as a minimum guideline when determining internal security procedures. In the near future, BART officials will re-evaluate whether to adjust security measures. Whatever adjustments officials make, their primary goal will be to make sure the emphasis is on high profile, visible measures that are both random and sustainable over the long term.

WHAT PASSENGERS WILL SEE
By staying at an internal orange alert, passengers will continue to see:

  • Increased presence of uniformed BART Police Officers
  • BART police officers briefly holding trains to conduct random sweeps
  • Bomb sniffing dogs on trains and in stations
  • Managers & Administrative employees patrolling trains & stations in bright yellow vests

RESTROOMS RE-OPENED
Because the federal government lowered the alert level to yellow, the one thing BART has done in response is to re-open its street level restrooms. The restrooms in underground stations will remain closed. BART has had them closed since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

EYES & EARS
BART continues to encourage its 310,000 daily riders to be the agency's extra eyes and ears by reporting unattended items and suspicious behavior to BART Police Officers, Train Operators, Station Agents, and other BART staff. During a news conference on Tuesday, BART unveiled the third rendition of its "Eyes & Ears" campaign with attention grabbing posters that feature a pair of eyes and the words "Bomb Detectors." The cost of the campaign is $3,000. The 700 posters should be going up in all BART cars and in most BART stations by the beginning of September. The "Eyes & Ears" poster campaign started in August 2002.

BEHIND THE SCENES SECURITY
The bulk of BART's security efforts happen behind the scenes. For security reasons, BART does not discuss the specifics of its non-public anti-terrorism efforts. However, in general, an orange alert means BART personnel take on additional duties, which include inspections and patrols of key facilities and sensitive areas.

NO CREDIBLE THREAT TO BART
BART has no reason to believe the system is a target in any way. We continue to talk with the Department of Homeland Security and the Bay Area Joint Terrorism Task Force, both of which report no credible threat specific to U.S. transit systems.