Office of the Independent Police Auditor

BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin; Interns Saira Guevara, Samar Shimila, and Tim Nguyen; BPCRB Chair Dana Lang; OIPA Stakeholder Engagement Administrator Linton Johnson September 14, 2026 public meeting.

BART Police Civilian Review Board Throws Its Support Behind Blue Envelope BEEP Smart Card Proposal to Improve Police Interactions with Riders with Autism or Hidden Disabilities

Board backs OIPA effort to bring Blue Envelope concept to BART with help from Grand Prize-winning BART Innovation Interns

September 14, 2026

OAKLAND, CA — The BART Police Civilian Review Board (BPCRB) is throwing its support behind BEEP — the Blue EnvelopE Program concept — an initiative spearheaded by BART’s Office of the Independent Police Auditor (OIPA) to adapt the nationwide Blue Envelope concept for BART. The program is designed to help BART Police officers and other frontline employees better communicate with riders who are autistic and or who have hidden disabilities, helping make interactions safer, clearer and more respectful.

Today, the BPCRB unanimously voted to authorize Chairperson Dana Lang to send a letter of support to OIPA, encouraging the BART General Manager and BART Police Department to work with OIPA to move the initiative forward.

“The BART Police Civilian Review Board (BPCRB) is pleased to express its support for OIPA’s proposed Blue EnvelopE Program (BEEP) and encourages the BART General Manager and BART Police Department to work with OIPA to move this initiative forward,” Chairperson Lang said in the letter.

“We believe the concept has the potential to make these interactions safer, more effective and more respectful for both riders and BART employees,” Lang continued.

Lang also pointed to the connection between BEEP and the broader purpose of civilian oversight.

“The BPCRB believes this initiative is consistent with the shared goals of civilian oversight, community engagement, transparency and continuous improvement in policing,” she said.

Bringing the Blue Envelope Concept to BART

Blue Envelope programs are designed to help improve communication between law enforcement and people whose disabilities or neurodivergence may not be immediately apparent. OIPA is spearheading the effort to adapt the concept for BART and determine how it could work within a public transit environment.

The effort reflects OIPA’s broader role in bringing the public, civilian oversight and BART Police together to identify ways to improve policing and strengthen public trust.

“I believe the Blue Envelope Program can make a meaningful difference in how we serve and interact with our riders, and I could not be prouder of our BART interns for taking that vision a step farther with the innovative BEEP smart card concept,” BART Police Auditor Inez Gonzalez said.

An OIPA Initiative Meets Young Innovation

The BEEP concept took a major step forward this summer when three BART Innovation Interns — Samar Shimila, Saira Guevara and Timothy Nguyen — were challenged to help OIPA explore how the Blue Envelope model could be adapted for BART.

Calling themselves the “BART Bees,” the interns researched the issue and developed BEEP into a smart-card concept that riders could voluntarily use to communicate information that may be important during interactions with BART Police and other frontline employees.

They took their BEEP concept to the 2026 Introducing Youth to American Infrastructure (iyai+) Grand Innovation Challenge, presenting it before an international panel of judges. Their work won the Grand Prize, topping teams of young adults from universities and transit agencies across North America.

For Shimila, however, the experience was about more than winning.

“For me, I don't think it's about winning,” Shimila said. “The real prize is the experience that you get out of it.”

Nguyen describes the interns’ approach to the experience with a simple piece of advice:

“Be a sponge,” Nguyen said. “After you lean on your mentors, your teammates, and then you soak in everything that BART has to offer, you'll get what you were looking for. So just be open to anything,”

For Guevara, the experience also changed her perception of BART and gave her a new appreciation for the people behind the transit system.

“I thought BART was gonna be super corporate and uptight,” Guevara said. Instead, she said, “I came out with so many mentors, friends, and just so many people that I know that I'm happy to come back and talk to… and to know that BART is actually making an impact in the community I'm a part of.”

Bringing BEEP Back to BART

After winning the international competition, the BART Bees brought their award-winning concept back to BART, presenting BEEP to the BART Police Civilian Review Board and explaining how the smart card could help participating riders communicate information that may be important during interactions with police and other frontline employees.

The BPCRB’s support represents another step toward determining how the Blue Envelope concept could be adapted and potentially implemented at BART.

OIPA is continuing to work with the BPCRB, BART Police, other BART departments and community partners — including members of the disability and neurodivergent communities — to explore how BEEP could work at BART and what would be needed to move the initiative toward a pilot program.

Watch the BART Bees’ Award-Winning Presentation

Watch Samar Shimila, Saira Guevara and Timothy Nguyen present BEEP to the international panel of judges during the 2026 iyai+ Grand Innovation Challenge: Watch the BART Bees present BEEP

The BART Bees sum up their mission this way:

“We are the BART Bees! Making Public transit safer and more accessible, one BEEP at a time!”