Dear BART Officials- Please get off your rears and enforce your rules so we can all be safer.

What is frustration? For me, it's getting off BART at Bay Fair after a long work week, coming down the elevator with my bike, and as I get off the elevator either the person(s) riding down with me dart off for the parking lot without going to the fare gates to tag out, or as I make my way to the gates to tag out I watch people walk directly from the lot to the elevator and skip paying their fare... Twice it's happened right in front of BART cops, just standing around chatting. They look over, they see, I'll even point at the people, and they ignore me and keep talking, then walk over to their little trailer building.

Yup, it PISSES ME OFF- Especialy if it's the 3rd or 4th time I've seen it happen in a week. Why exactly are we paying for their free ride?

As people know that have read my entries before I like San Leandro PD's culture and structure. They have the right blend in my opinion of enforcement goals and priority focus to keep this area just about as safe as you can especially when you look at the fact we share a border with Oakland. Some of you also very incorrectly make assumptions that an opinion about one department means I think they all are great... To those that think that's the case all I can say is you need a reality check. You have to look no further than BART for me to have issues with the way a police department handles their business.

Shootings, robberies, tagging, these things WILL happen, it's human nature. You could even say it’s part of the culture in major, or, smaller American cities. But how can you reduce the chances of it happening at mass transit stations? History shows (or at least strongly suggests) you need to demonstrate a strong presence and enforce the rules, zero tolerance. So, how do you make a problem worse than it is? Just ask BART; ignore the problem, and ignore history.

NYC in the 70's and 80's had a subway that was just plain dangerous. Run down and tagged train cars and stations, fare jumpers everywhere, horrible assults taking place... decent (and paying) riders started to leave the system. What many call Broken Window Theory was embraced and policy was changed from the top-down. For those unfamiliar with the term and willing to trust my summation- If an area looks run-down and not cared about (like an industrial area with many buildings with broken windows, tagging, etc.), it will become more and more crime ridden because it looks like no one cares about what happens there. When NYC attacked the issue head-on and cleaned up the tagging, enforced aggressively the rules including fare jumping, and sure enough the crime rates dropped-off to a much lower level and ridership increased.

Some people (of course) debate the effectiveness of focusing on quality of life and minor offenses like fare evasion, but the nose-diving crime stats suggest that it works. The removal of paint and glass-etching tagged on the cars by "artists" and gangbangers, in addition to making sure only those willing to pay would be on the trains and platforms, directly impacted safety on the lines and in the surrounding areas.

It's the fare-jumper's fault for not doing what's right but I'm getting to the point of placing some blame on BART PD and officials for inviting people to cheat by openly showing that they just don't care about right and wrong at some stations. If crime is an issue and not enforcing fare laws doesn't deliver results, how about trying something NEW, like making an effort to enforce them for 90 days and tell us if you see a drop in more serious crime across the system? This isn’t limited to San Leandro or Oakland. I rode all the time to and from El Cerrito stations as well, it’s the same issue anytime the station elevators are outside the fare gates. If what you're doing isn't working, try something NEW... At least going after fare jumpers has history on its side as a winner.

Oh, by the way, would it hurt to collect the extra fares and fines as a means off-setting deficits in your budget? Will the fatality of a couple commuters from robberies and a wrongful death lawsuit force your hand? Do you REALLY need to let it go there first?

Just enforce your rules, that’s all I ask. But do so all day, every day. SEE WHAT HAPPENS... You can't really fail more than you are now, almost anything would be an improvement at this point.

PS- Could you try to enforce the rules about people not peeing and crapping in your SF Downtown stations, too? As much as I love the mixed scent of stale urine with poo, I'd like to try something different on that front, too. Thanks.