BART resumes service after AC Transit bus checked for explosives

OAKLAND, Calif. -- BART has resumed service tonight after the West Oakland BART station was closed for about two hours due to a bomb threat on an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus, a BART spokeswoman said.

The report of a possible bomb on the AC Transit bus approaching the station came in shortly before 7:30 p.m., BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

The bus was parked underneath the BART tracks at Seventh and Chester streets, Trost said.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office bomb squad was called to the scene and K-9 units searched the area, she said.

Trains were not running through the Transbay Tube between San Francisco and Oakland during the delay, Trost said.

Oakland police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said the bus and surrounding area were evacuated.

A bomb technician entered the bus and did not find an explosive device, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.

"It's always better to have a false positive than a false negative," Nelson said.

The station reopened around 9:15 p.m.

AC Transit supplied nine buses to transport passengers from the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco to BART's 12th Street Oakland City Center station.