Bart getting in trouble for not allowing fare evading
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/06/BAEN13VRK8.DTL&tsp=1
Usually, I get infuriated after paying ~$7/day to commute on Bart and see others jump the gates or use the emergency swing gate. Even when the swing gate is right next to the station agent, people still walk right on past because the agents I see are either entirely absent, usually engrossed in a novel, doing a crossword puzzle, or doing their nails.
Now, when Bart actually took action against the fare evaders going to the protest several days ago by closing down the Richmond, Coliseum, and Richmond stations, Bart is being criticized, especially because the closed stations were in areas with large minority populations. What a joke.
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But critics said BART's
But critics said BART's decision was unwarranted. There was "no indication that any of the alleged fare evaders presented any threat to the safety of any person," stated the letter, which was sent to the BART board by the National Lawyers Guild, La Raza Centro Legal, Equal Rights Advocates, Chinese for Affirmative Action, the San Francisco branch of the Coalition on Homelessness and a dozen other organizations. The groups also pointed out that the three targeted stations serve neighborhoods with large minority populations.
No threat maybe, but certainly no revenue either.
Carlos Villarreal, executive director of the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said that there are no plans at this time to take legal action against BART. But, he said, "We do think there are constitutional issues here."
He theorized that closing the stations may have violated the First Amendment because it made it more difficult for people to get to a political rally.
Sweet said she has no quibbles with people's right to protest. "What they were going to do wasn't a bad thing," she said. "How they got there was."
Fare evasion, she noted, is against the law.
I think I may protest that I have to go to work every day and pay a fare to get there.
The National Lawyers Guild and the other groups that signed the letter to BART said the transit agency should have simply opened the fare gates. The coalition said the transit system has done that before to accommodate large crowds, such as those attending huge anti-war demonstrations and major sports events.
Johnson said deciding to open the fare gates is rare and decided on a case-by-case basis. "It's not something we want to do if we can help it."
There it is folks. Free rides for everyone. How long is this delapidated system going to run? At least Linton Johnson defended keeping the 'vaders out.
bart is far from perfect, but
bart is far from perfect, but this is rediculous. a bunch of people in masks jump the faregates, and bart gets flack for stopping them? insane! they are lucky no one got tazed. if you can't pay the fare, stay the fuck out! it doesn't matter if you are a minority, and i don't care where you are headed, whether your trip is for a noble cause or a sinister one. pony up the $3-$4 or STFU.
i am hispanic. should i sue bart for the thousands of $$$$ in fares i have paid since i started commuting? i am commuting for a noble cause - to feed and provide shelter for my family. a noble hispanic being held down by the man. i smell lawsuit.
You should read the comments
You should read the comments on that article. Some of them are really funny. But I agree, stay out if you can't pay. If I was the person in authority at Fruitvale. All of those people would be out on their butt so fast they would have thought they had kissed the 3rd Rail. Like one of the comment posters on the article said. BART should sue the oakland city schools and whatever organization that was running this for all of the trouble and the lost fares from when this all happened.
Indeed. And I happen to have
Indeed. And I happen to have an 800kV Taser. They're just mad because they got caught and trying to do whatever is possible not to get booked for it. As many other ragers have posted, "Stay out if you can't pay in." (I know that sounds lame.) Exercising personal responsibility helps you keep your freedom. As Morgan Spurlock asked, "Where does personal responsibility stop and corporate responsibility begin?"
I keep trying to kick my
I keep trying to kick my addiction to rage-ahol, but these morons just keep sucking me back in. Are you kidding me? I wish you could send people to jail because of willingness to be an idiot.... or at least beat them.
First, NO EXCUSE for fare
First, NO EXCUSE for fare evasion. Second, BPD could't figure out destination and mass there to bust them? Third. so any of us bound for the shut down stations are SOL? Thanks.
Not an advertisement for RELIABLE public transit.
You have got to be kidding!
You have got to be kidding! Minority status has nothing to do with closing the station. If a bunch of well dressed business men and women decided to jump the fare gates at the Montgomery station, they would get the same treatment. Fare evasion happens... we all know that. We can't catch them all. However, controlling access to BART helps keep the system from getting filthier and the crime rate soaring. Think back to the "Spare the air" days. People loose there minds when they get something for free.
I have participated in two incidents when we shut the stations down on mass fare evaders. One time the "protesters" decided to spray paint the Fruitvale station platform after jumping in. Should we allow this behavior to continue? I think not. If you don't like to pay the extra money to get somewhere faster... then take the bus or start walking.
By the way, don't get mad at me when YOU break the law and I now have to confront YOU about it!
I appreciate all the riders who pass through our system lawfully each day.
Say, officer jo-jo, were
Say, officer jo-jo, were there any arrests and citations? It would be interesting to watch what happens in court. There is no
BART court", but each jurisdiction handles their own violations. What court in Oakland would handle these arrests, if any?
I was not working when this
I was not working when this happened so I would have to check the calls for service or ask the officers who were on scene. I happened to be in Dallas at a Special Olympics conference when this occurred.
BART Police use the same courts as any city police department would. Typically citations in Oakland go to the Wiley W. Manuel Superior Court house. It is across the street from the Oakland Police Department. Last time I was in that court for a fare evasion case, the fine was $165.00. However I went to the Delta court in Pittsburg a few years ago and the fine was $35.00. Apparently that judge didn't take fare evasion that serious.
I'll get back to you on the arrest question. I will be back to work on Sunday.
I was so enraged when I read
I was so enraged when I read the article. You want to protest, fine. But breaking the law and inconveniencing people is not going to win over the public. Sure, it will bring attention to the issue and your protest, but I highly doubt most people will be sympathetic.
I have had issues with BART, but I think they made the right call in this case.
BART did the right thing,
BART did the right thing, there was a mob mentality occurring with the potental to evolve into a riot; BART stopped it.
Had BART not done anything and a crowd evolved into a riot, BART would be accused of facilitating the riot through their inaction!
For BART is was a loosing situation and what they did was best for the local community.