As you may know, BART is getting set to lay out an enormous amount of cash on a new fleet of 775 rail cars, and the price tag keeps going up. Matier & Ross prick up their ears today at hearing that not only will the new cars cost something like $5 million apiece, but all that money will be spent in foreign countries. Of the five companies that bid for the work, none of them are located in the U.S., and the three finalists are in South Korea, France, and Canada. more ›

The family of Charles Hill, the "wobbly drunk" homeless man shot and killed by BART police last July has filed a civil suit against BART seeking monetary damages for the incident. According to the Examiner's report on the filing, Oakland attorney John Burris will be representing Hill's next of kin. Burris, anti-BART PD readers might remember, successfully secured nearly $3 million in damages for Oscar Grant's mother and daughter in the wrongful death case that followed the trial of BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. more ›

A woman reported being attacked by 3 to 4 men on the Oakland BART Coliseum/Oakland Airport station platform this morning during the morning commute, reports KRON 4 Morning News. She received medical treatment for her injuries. No arrests have been made. more ›

Despite not being able to remove their collective heads from their tushes to figure out late-night service on a regular basis, BART has managed to make one good decision for New Year's Eve this year. They'll be running trains until 3 a.m. in order to ferry the various drunken revelers of a bridge-n-tunnel sort to their respective points east after last call at DNA/Mezzanine/The Hustler Club. more ›

Before you take off for the holidays, remember that come New Year's Eve, you can ride Muni for free. For free? For free. Muni travel, including cable cars, is free of charge from 8 p.m. New Year's Eve until 6 a.m. New Year's Day. And who in their sane mind would want to ride Muni on New Year's Eve? Not us. Because we don't like harrowing train and/or bus rides. But many of you will have to rely on San Francisco's semi-reliable public transportation, so... have at it. more ›

After taking a lot of crap this year for shutting off cellphones and shooting a guy, the BART Police force is looking to make good this holiday season. In a press release, by way of SFAppeal, BART announces their plans to step up foot patrols around downtown San Francisco and offer escorted walks home from the West Oakland and San Leandro stations. more ›

In the ongoing Depression Era-esque epidemic of stolen metal, at least one copper thief has been brought down. After nearly running over a suspect with a train last week, BART announced yesterday that they had tracked down their guy, one Dennis McGuire of Noe Valley, to his home on 24th Street. After serving him with a search warrant BART cops turned up lengths of copper cable they believe was stolen from the agency along with a copper thievery kit consisting of a machete, large bolt-cutters, a tree pruner, gloves and a small amount of illegal drugs. more ›

Right after BART officials admitted Tuesday that they have a problem with metal thieves yanking wire off the system's tracks, yet another incident of copper theft was reported. This time, thieves ripped out two 20-foot sections of thick, electrified cables around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. Yesterday's theft prompted BART to come clean about a copper theft that set the transit agency back a year on a multi-million dollar project that would have reduced delays and sped up train service systemwide. more ›

Well, this is fun. Muni Diaries brings our attention to a Bruce Lee look-alike caught rapping freestyle whilst riding a BART train the other day. Also, he has no shirt on thus showing off an admittedly taut and lovely body. Delightful. more ›

Around 3:20 p.m. Sunday afternoon BART closed the 24th Street Mission Station after a man reportedly laid down on the tracks in front of an SFO-bound train. Trains continued to run, but the 24th Street station was closed for nearly two hours as the agency rerouted trains to a single track around the scene of the incident. more ›

So, the BART board had a meeting last night. They all said "hooray" to a contract to provide new vinyl seats to replace those nasty-ass blue wool seats that carry the lice and contagions of yesteryear in their folds. "We're getting rid of the diseased seats," said BART director Lynette Sweet, except the contract will only be for 200 rail cars, starting with just 100 of them — like everything else around here, we have to make sure that everyone likes them before the other 100 get installed. As for the design of the new seat cushions, we're a little scared: It's called "Water, Waves and Wine." "It features the bay, wine and the cascading Alamere Falls at Point Reyes. The seats will be jade — the color of the bay in the late evening, according to the designers — with pinot noir accents in a linear pattern inspired by the waterfall and waves." more ›

A 25-year-old woman walking on Oak Road near Treat Boulevard was grabbed by a man on Wednesday afternoon. The man, it seems, had been following her. As soon as she turned around, he released his grip and scrammed. more ›

With BART fares scheduled to go up next July, the transit agency is mulling over a couple new proposals that could help take the sting out of local riders' Clipper Card balances. Among the possible new perks BART board President Bob Franklin detailed to the Examiner: Allowing for free rides after a rider racks up 40 trips in a month, 15% discounts for Clipper Card users and increasing the youth discount age to 17. more ›

Promises of late-night service on BART may have taken the backburner at the transit agency while they sort out a few bigger problems popping up and bring the new management up to speed, but new word from the the BART board says they haven't given up the dream of a last-call train to the East Bay. According to the Examiner, BART is now proposing to extend Friday night service by half an hour, putting the last Eastbound train out of Embarcadero station at 12:56 a.m. more ›

Around 11:20 p.m. last night a man jumped down from a stairwell onto the BART platform at Colma station and in front of an oncoming train in an apparent suicide, according to witnesses. BART immediately shut off electricity to the third rail and train service was temporarily disrupted. Passengers aboard the train were put onto another train to reach their destinations. more ›

BART may be tuning out the protesters, but the transit agency is all ears when it comes to the seating situation. After several months of tests and public feedback gathered from Seating Labs held around the Bay Area, the transit agency announced yesterday that they will be installing new, wipeable vinyl seats on 100 train cars over the next six to nine months. The new vinyl seats are similar to what they use on the DC Metro, except "ours are nicer looking," according to Paul Oversier, BART's assistant GM of Operations. more ›

Expect possible BART station closures, transit delays, and media overreaction again as yet another protest is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at the Civic Center station. BART police confirmed to SFist that there will be another protest tonight. Sparked by the BART officer-involved shooting death of Charles Hill, a homeless man, at the Civic Center station on July 3, this makes the fifth week of melee at downtown BART/Muni stations. more ›

An 18-year-old man was shot while sitting in a car near the Balboa BART station on Thursday morning. The incident happened at around 11:15 a.m. He was rushed to a nearby hospital. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. more ›

A 19-year-old man was shot in the hip a little before noon on Wednesday near the 24th Street BART station. "The shooting was reported at 11:59 a.m. in front of a McDonald's restaurant at 24th and Mission streets," reports SF Appeal. The two suspects, described as a Hispanic and black male, one of whom was sporting a white hat and blue jacket, evaded police by hopping on a BART train. more ›

The unfortunate souls who have to work today can not only enjoy some FOMO, along with commuting on a Sunday schedule, but they can also enjoy yet another BART protest. Fortunately, the protests have become more streamlined, for lack of a more exciting word, in recent weeks. Last week, there were no service disruptions. more ›

pesky weekly protests or that maybe a $300,000 starting salary is a bit inflated for our egalitarian urban notions? “It sounds fun to me,” she says. Apparently not. more ›

After another round of BART protests this Monday evening, BART officials closed Civic Center and Powell BART and Muni stations. But! Both the Civic Center and Powell stations have just reopened. more ›

Police closed Civic Center BART station due to protests. According to SF Appeal, "All the protesters have left the BART platform, which remains closed. Roberts says BART police confirmed that no arrests were made, and that the decision to close the station was made "because of safety." more ›