Transit agency officials say the four-legged weed-eaters offer advantages to using lawn mowers and other power tools, which carry higher risk of sparking fires and creating air pollution.
BART's Assistant Superintendent of Way and Facilities, Grounds Maintenance, Glen Eddy, said in a statement, the goats can maneuver steep hillsides more easily. He added that the animals make much less noise than gas-powered brush-cutting machines, thereby decreasing any disruptions to neighboring areas.
BART's 450 goats are contracted from the Coalinga-based, family-owned business, which owns about 4,000 goats.
Prior to the goats' arrival, BART would plow or mow grass and weeds.
The goats mow anywhere from five to 25 acres at each location where they're grazed. The goats' work typically costs BART about 800 dollars to 12-hundred dollars an acre, and they usually work for about six weeks in the fire-prone summer months.
