Bay Area Rapid Transit

16 Stories

Guy Detained, Handcuffed for Eating Sandwich

It's illegal to eat on BART; incident is now under investigation

(Newser) - It's against the law to eat on Bay Area Rapid Transit, a law that apparently extends to the train platform. A BART police officer was caught on video last Monday detaining a man for eating a breakfast sandwich as he waited for his train to get to work; the...

Dramatic Subway Rescue Captured on Video

Man was pulled to safety moments before train hit

(Newser) - The Bay Area Rapid Transit System is praising "humble hero" John O'Connor for saving a man's life at a station in Oakland on Sunday night. In a dramatic rescue captured on video , the transportation supervisor saved an intoxicated man who had fallen into the path of a...

Sisters Attacked After Getting Off Oakland Train, One Dies

It's the 3rd possible homicide related to BART in 5 days

(Newser) - An 18-year-old woman was fatally stabbed on an Oakland train station platform Sunday night, the third possible homicide related to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in five days. Nia Wilson had just stepped off a train at the MacArthur Station around 9:36pm when, officials say, 27-year-old John Lee...

Scores of Teens Rush Onto Train, Rob Riders

Riders were assaulted in BART attack

(Newser) - Bay Area Rapid Transit riders were robbed and assaulted by up to 60 teens in an attack that lasted just seconds Saturday night. Police say at least seven people were robbed and two suffered injuries that needed medical attention after the juveniles swarmed a BART train at Oakland's Coliseum...

Janitor Making $270K Spends Lots of Time in a Closet: Probe
Janitor Making $270K Spends
Lots of Time in a Closet: Probe
in case you missed it

Janitor Making $270K Spends Lots of Time in a Closet: Probe

BART reps scrambling to explain how Liang Zhao Zhang pulled in so much in 2015

(Newser) - There's quite a difference between making $58,000 a year and $270,000, and that huge gap is why some are now poking around to see how a San Francisco janitor has been pulling in the latter . The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Liang Zhao Zhang, who cleans the...

SF Train Station Janitor Paid $58K Actually Made $270K
SF Train Station
Janitor Paid $58K
Actually Made $270K
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

SF Train Station Janitor Paid $58K Actually Made $270K

Liang Zhao Zhang picked up a lot of overtime

(Newser) - Looking to make the big bucks? Try being a janitor and apparently not having a life. A San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit janitor raked in about $271,000 in pay and benefits last year—almost five times his base salary of $57,945, reports NBC Bay Area —after...

1st BART Cop Ever Killed Died at Colleague's Hands

Sgt. Tom Smith was a 20-year veteran of the force: officials

(Newser) - For the first time since the Bay Area Rapid Transit police formed 42 years ago, an on-duty officer has been killed—and the death of Sgt. Tom Smith Jr., 42, apparently came at the hands of a colleague. In what's being painted as a tragic accident, the fatal shooting...

Under Shadow of 2 Deaths, BART Goes Back to Work

'This has got to be the last time that this happens,' says Gavin Newsom

(Newser) - After four days of massive traffic jams and overcrowded buses and ferries, Bay Area Rapid Transit and its two biggest unions have reached a deal that will bring the rail strike to an end, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . "This offer is more than we wanted to pay, but...

Amid Strike, SF Train Kills 2 Workers

Employees were inspecting tracks; train was on auto

(Newser) - A San Francisco Bay Area commuter train returning from routine maintenance struck and killed two workers who were inspecting the tracks yesterday afternoon—an accident that comes amid a strike that has shut the Bay Area Rapid Transit system down for the past few days. The four-car train was being...

SF Trains Resume— Without Union Deal

Contracts extended for 30 days

(Newser) - Trains will resume in San Francisco today following a strike , after the San Francisco Bay Area transit agency and its two largest unions agreed to extend a labor contract for a month while they continue bargaining. A statement released late yesterday by Bay Area Rapid Transit said trains will begin...

BART Protesters Shut Station
 BART Protesters Shut Station 

BART Protesters Shut Station

20-30 people arrested in two-hour demonstration

(Newser) - New BART protests yesterday sparked another confrontation with San Francisco riot cops and shut down a key station. At least 50 protesters marched on downtown Powell Station, forcing the station to close over rush hour, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . Shouting "No justice, no peace," protesters screamed...

Anonymous Leaks Lewd Pics of BART Spokesman

Saucy photos circulated online as BART directors meet

(Newser) - Hackers outraged by BART's decision to cut off cell phone service to foil a protest have gone below the belt. Anonymous claims it has obtained lewd photos of BART spokesman Linton Johnson, and it has circulated them online, reports SF Weekly . One picture allegedly features Johnson displaying his genitals....

8 Busted in BART Protests

 45 Busted in BART Protests 
UPDATED

45 Busted in BART Protests

Free-speech protesters snarl SF rush hour again

(Newser) - Some 45 people were arrested yesterday during the latest protest against San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit's decision to cut cellphone service to foil a demonstration earlier this month. The protests forced the closure of two stations at rush hour, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . BART police arrested...

BART Braces for Protests Tonight

Won't rule out cutting cell service again

(Newser) - On the heels of being hacked by Anonymous, California's Bay Area Rapid Transit is bracing for more protests called for this evening, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . BART took considerable flak after it cut cell phone service underground to stem anti-police protests Thursday, and it's not ruling out...

Cop in BART Killing Gets Out After a Year

Former transit officer Johannes Mehserle served one year behind bars

(Newser) - A former Oakland transit cop convicted of shooting and killing an unarmed man on a subway platform last year was freed today after a year in prison, reports CNN . Johannes Mehserle was sentenced to two years for involuntary manslaughter, but he received one day of good conduct credit for each...

Bacteria, Mold Fill BART Seats

Cloth seats harder to clean, allow dangerous bacteria to thrive

(Newser) - If you are fighting for a seat on San Francisco's BART trains, maybe you should think again—the seats are full of nasty bacteria, including a drug-resistant strain of staphylococcus aureus superbug, and several types of mold, says a new report commissioned by The Bay Citizen . “I would love...

16 Stories