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BART has made service alert information even more accessible to the public by adding an automated BART Service Alerts channel to its Bluesky account (@bart.gov). As of Friday, April 11, there is now a dedicated feed for real-time BART Service Alerts (@alerts.bart.gov) to inform riders when multiple trains are off schedule by ten or more minutes. Unlike other social media platforms, Bluesky does not require a login to view BART’s timeline.  

BART has been providing informational content on Bluesky since November 2024.   

“Service alerts offer critical and timely information for our riders to help them make decisions about their ride,” said Alicia Trost, Chief Communications Officer. “We want this information to be easy to find and on the platforms people use. The Bluesky social media platform is growing in popularity, and our followers have been asking for our automated service alerts to be posted there.”

BART Service Alerts are available: 

• On bart.gov and the BART Official App (the app offers customized in-app notifications).
• On the bart.gov Alerts and Advisories page
• Via text or email alerts.
• On the social media platform Bluesky at @alerts.bart.gov and X at @SFBARTalert.
• Via third-party apps through BART’s Developer Program.
• Alerts are posted on platform digital signs in BART stations and audio announcements are made inside stations and onboard trains. 

Felony arrests on BART increased 62% last year compared with 2022. The jump comes as BART PD has been aggressively recruiting new officers and ensuring safety staff are riding more trains to increase their visible safety presence. BART officers recorded 726 felony arrests in 2023 compared with 448 for 2022. Along with those arrests 49 illegal firearms were seized in 2023 compared with 40 the previous year. It’s the most guns BART PD has recovered in a year since at least 2003. BART PD has already recovered a dozen firearms so far this year.

“These latest arrest and gun seizure numbers are a credit to all the hard work of our officers,” said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin. “Since we started deploying more patrol officers to ride trains we have seen an impact, and our riders are telling us they notice the difference.”

In the latest Quarterly Performance Review the percentage of riders who reported seeing BART PD on their trip reached a record high of 20%. That’s up from the previous record of 17% the previous quarter. The last two quarters have been the first in BART’s history where the percentage of riders who reported seeing BART PD exceed the department’s official goal of 12%.

BART has been working to implement its Safe and Clean Plan which focuses on boosting the visible safety presence in the system and increasing staffing to clean trains and stations.

BART PD has also been advancing an aggressive officer recruitment campaign to fill its remaining vacancies. This effort has been boosted by a 22% salary increase for officers, which was approved by the BART Board to ensure BART PD remains competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area. Anyone interested in joining BART PD can learn more at joinbartpd.com.

(Examples of recently seized guns)

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BART PD’s aggressive public outreach campaign to hire more officers is getting a boost from a just released recruitment video. The new video highlights the real-world experience of BART PD officers and shows what it’s like to work in a dynamic transit environment. The department has been going all-out to fill all its vacant officer positions. In the latest quarter BART PD received 837 officer applications, a record high for any quarter in the department’s history.

“This video is the latest tool we are adding to our hiring arsenal,” said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin.  “We have been reaching out to officer candidates by hosting recruitment open houses, attending job fairs,  promoting open positions on social media, and various other methods of outreach. We are doing whatever it  takes to find high-quality candidates who want to join  us on our mission of ensuring that BART is the safest  way to travel around the Bay.”

BART PD currently has 23 officer vacancies, which is down from 29 just two months ago. BART PD is now onboarding 7-9 new officers per month.

A key focus of BART PD’s recruitment campaign has been to highlight the recent 22% salary increase for officers. The BART Board of Directors approved that increase in June to ensure pay at BART PD remains competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area. Since that time, BART PD has seen a nearly 50% increase in its monthly sworn officer new hire rate. The pay increase is in addition to the $15,000 hiring bonus currently being offered to new hires. BART PD has increased the frequency of its testing and has also streamlined the hiring process so qualified candidates can join the department more quickly.

BART PD has launched the Join BART PD website, which is exclusively geared towards providing candidates with all the information they need to apply. Since its launch in July the site has attracted more than 80,000 views.