The Bay Area Rapid Transit announced this week that crimes against riders have dropped significantly since the end of 2024, even as the number of passengers has increased in the same period.
BART said according to new data, the number of crimes against riders per million trips has dropped by two-thirds between the end of 2024 and June 2026. BART police delays and safety-related delays also fell by nearly half as there were fewer reported incidents.
Officials attributed the drop in crime to the installation of new fare gates at BART stations, a project that was completed in September last year.
The new gates are more difficult to bypass illegally and have led to a 60% drop in riders reporting seeing fare evasion. BART estimates that the gates are saving the agency $10 million annually as a result.
