Survey shows BART has lowest rider approval rating ever

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- A new survey shows BART has its lowest rider approval rating ever.

The agency's president is now saying she's not surprised.

More than 5,000 riders were surveyed for the customer satisfaction report. A lot of them just want to see a more reliable system, including working elevators and feeling confident that trains will get them where they need to go on time.

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While BART's ridership is at an all-time high, satisfaction has hit a new low - the lowest in 20 years.

Sixty-nine percent of riders surveyed are satisfied with BART's overall services, a big change from 84 percent in 2012.

Rebecca Saltzman, president of the BART board, is not surprised. "We really understand that it's hard right now on BART. It's very crowded and there are delays and we are working very hard on it," she said.

Riders' biggest complaints were the noise, the lack of seats and standing room with passengers packed like sardines during commute times, and also the reliability of elevators and delays.

"It's only bad if the train is backed up or people crowd in by the door because there's no seats. That's sometimes a problem," rider Donald Wong said.

Heather McIntosh leaves early enough to avoid the crowds but says she would like to see BART make some improvements. "A cleaner BART system. Some stations are in really poor shape. I mean filthy, disgusting. I would love to see bathrooms that were available to the riders," she said.

There is relief on the way. A $3.2 billion bond measure was passed by voters, which will help replace tracks and electrical systems. New train cars will be rolling in later this year.

Click here to read the survey.