In an effort to protect passengers during the busy holiday travel and shopping season, BART is adding more patrols in downtown San Francisco. While in the East Bay, the transit agency is teaming up with the Oakland Police Department to provide escorts at the West Oakland station.
"Passengers will see more uniformed officers patrolling busy downtown San Francisco stations and our trains during the next few weeks," BART Police spokesperson Era Jenkins said. "The holidays can be a distracting time; we want to remind our passengers to always remain alert and aware of their belongings and surroundings.
City of Oakland community volunteers (who will don red vests identifying them as "Pedestrian Escorts"), OPD Cadets, Problem Solving Officers, Police Service Technicians, BART Police and Community Service Officers will be at the West Oakland station Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. to escort passengers parked within a three block radius of that station.
There will also be two designated patrol vehicles to provide rides to those who do not want to walk in the dark.
