BART police cracking down on fare evaders at Embarcadero Station in SF

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- BART police are sweeping through trains this morning, demanding riders show proof of purchase. It's happening at the Embarcadero station.

BART police and fare evader inspectors board the trains and look at everyone's ticket. If someone did not pay for their ride, they are removed from the train. It takes a few minutes but riders we talked to did not mind the delay. They told us they were glad to see the police activity.

"People that are causing problems usually don't have tickets so I think it is incredible. I hope they keep it up," said David Goss as he sat onboard and waited for the sweep to be completed.

ABC7 Contributor Phil Matier first reported about the sweeps in the Chronicle, reporting that police estimate that they remove 75 to 100 people from the trains every time they do this.

BART has not decided how long these sweeps will last, saying it depends on the effectiveness of the sweeps. They have been doing them since the end of September.

BART estimates that the agency loses $25 million a year because of fare evaders.