Jim Allison

Infested BART: Inspection Reports Reveal Serious Pest Problems

Human Poop and Pee Clogs BART Escalators

We've all been in that situation on BART -- the train doesn't arrive for another 20 minutes and you've got to take a dump. But what about those people who aren't waiting for a train and have no place to go to take that dump? Or the people who are too drunk and can't wait. Well, it seems they squat r ... More >>

BART Helps Make Movie About Oscar Grant Shooting

It's not really news that East Bay filmmaker Ryan Coogler has started shooting his drama on Oscar Grant, the Oakland man who was killed by a BART police officer at the Fruitvale BART station three years ago. What is news is that BART is participating in the film. According to ABC News, BART has agre ... More >>

Surprise: BART Elevators Are Filthy and Poorly Serviced

BART Service Restored, Expect Delays

Update (4:23 p.m.): Bart has just notified passengers that the trains between San Francisco and Oakland are running again. The bad news is that commuters will still be facing delays on their ride home. Crews worked through the day and had the trains back on track by 3:45 p.m. To help ease this painf ... More >>

24th Street BART Closes After Woman Stabs Man

An unidentified woman is in police custody this morning after allegedly stabbing a man inside the city's 24th Street BART station, forcing the station to close. Details are sketchy, but BART officials say that police were called to the station at about 4:30 a.m. after the woman reportedly stabbed th ... More >>

Major BART Delays into San Francisco

Taking the late train​BART officials are warning that this morning's commute will be a total nightmare. Equipment issues caused a brief power outage that has drastically slowed trains into San Francisco.BART spokesman Jim Allison told reporters to expect delays up to 30 minutes on the Fremont-to-R ... More >>

BART Protest Planned Tonight, But Don't Expect a Free Ride Home

This is what your commute will look like tonight ​BART protesters are prepping for another night of commuter grief, with plans to block the fare gates at the Powell Street station starting at 4:30 p.m.The goal is to get the transit agency to open the swing gates, which means commuters would be abl ... More >>

Powell Street Station Closed -- Several Arrested

What a ride​Update (6:21 p.m.) Several people have been arrested, and media has been kicked out of the  Powell street station. Update (5:53 p.m.) One man has been arrested.  Update: (5:40 p.m.) Protesters blocked fare gates and commuters can no longer access Powell Street station. Everyo ... More >>

BART Website Hacked, Protest Planned for Evening Commute

Just call in sick today​The notorious hacker group, Anonymous, breached BART's website yesterday, releasing personal information of thousands of Bay Area commuters. On top of that, the group is now warning that it will disrupt transit service tonight during the evening commute.So yeah, find a diff ... More >>

Anonymous Hackers Use Social Media to Mobilize for Tonight's BART Protest

Anonymous​When BART blacked out cellphone service last Thursday night in an attempt to foil protesters, hacker group Anonymous has swung into action, organizing a rally for this evening that has commuters steeling themselves for service disruptions. Whether or not you think the rallies are an ef ... More >>

Protesters Storm Civic Center BART, Trains Halt, Stations Closed

Lauren SmileyJust your avergae BART police protester​Update 6:30 p.m.: Protesters have lost steam. The chants are dying down and the crowd has thinned out to about 20 people. Allison reports that Embarcadero was closed for five minutes but has since reopened. Montgomery Street station has also ope ... More >>

Charles Hill BART Shooting Video

Acquiescing to public demand, BART today released surveillance videos of the shooting death of Charles Hill, a transient who was killed by transit police over the July 4 weekend, sparking raucous protests. Hill, 45, was shot on the Civic Center platform after purportedly menacing an officer with kni ... More >>

Suicide Halts BART Trains

Suicide at BART ​The evening commute will be sad and slow. A woman apparently committed suicide this afternoon at the Ashby BART station in Berkeley, bringing trains to a screeching halt. Jim Allison, spokesman for BART, told SF Weekly that the northbound train was coming into the station at about ... More >>

BART to Get Its Gay on for Pride

Does it get any gayer than this?​Remember when The Daily Show made fun of San Francisco for getting, ahem, topped by Minneapolis as the gayest city in the nation? Well, perhaps BART is helping us try to make a comeback, just in time for Gay Pride. It seems that BART is now hopping aboard the gay t ... More >>

BART: Trains Back on Track After Power Outage, No Delays Expected

All kinds of outages in Berkeley ​All 57 BART trains were running on time as of 4 p.m. after a power outage shutdown stations in Berkeley. At about 11:15 a.m., a substation in Berkeley lost power when a truck hit a pole and knocked the power out to 27,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers -- ... More >>

Power Outage Left BART Trains in Rail Yard

​City-bound commuters left cooling their heels this morning along BART's Richmond line can thank the Bay Area's favorite company for their delays: PG&E. A PG&E power outage in Berkeley led to a series of mishaps, culminating in trains being stuck in BART's Richmond maintenance yard, unable ... More >>

Pot Ads on Muni? They're Already on BART -- So Why Not?

Coming to a Muni bus near you?​SF Weekly's Chris Roberts yesterday reported that a local medical marijuana delivery service impresario has gotten his ads cleared to run on Muni vehicles. Not so fast, says Muni spokesman Paul Rose. Yes, Kevin Reed of the Green Cross has approached Titan Outdoor, wh ... More >>

BART Replacing Decade-Old Seats: Class for Your Ass, At Last

Skateboarder MagBART is replacing its legendarily nasty seats -- and cleaning out unwanted souveneirs like this bottle of urine​Back in June, it was reported that BART was sinking three quarters of a million dollars into cleaning its cars. Now, the miracle of transubstantiation may or may not caus ... More >>

Man on Tracks at Glen Park BART

​BART is experiencing delays due to an apparently unstable man running onto the tracks at Glen Park Station. "The situation is, one of our community service officers observed someone getting onto the tracks at Glen Park Station and run into the tunnel toward Balboa Park," said BART spokesman Jim A ... More >>

BART Riders Not Thrilled With Bogus Fare Reduction

BART riders: Cleanliness is next to Godliness​Those embittered with the state of society invariably mutter that, in a democracy, the people always get the government they deserve. But if that's the case -- and it is -- then BART riders deserve both credit, and excellent transportation. We've writt ... More >>

Daevonn Hartley, Apparent Embarcadero BART Suicide Attempt, Dies of His Wounds

​The San Francisco Medical Examiner's office identified the person who yesterday wandered onto the BART tracks at Embarcadero in an apparent suicide attempt. Sadly, the attempt was successful -- Daevonn Hartley, a 16-year-old male Fremont resident, died of his wounds at 7 p.m. last night at San Fr ... More >>

Busy Day on BART Tracks: Parolee Chase, Passenger Trapped Beneath Train

​Passengers in BART trains spent an ungodly amount of time stuck going nowhere today, but it could always be worse. You could be stuck beneath the train, which was the case at Embarcadero not long ago. Major delays are in effect, and the condition of the rider is not currently known.

'Pretty Big' Equipment Break Caused BART Morning Meltdown

Will HarperFollowing this morning's incident in the transbay tunnel, BART experienced long delays and crowded trains​The fracturing of the "yoke assembly" holding two train cars together caused a BART train to split into two segments this morning in the transbay tunnel, the agency is reporting. BA ... More >>

*You* Again? BART Vigilantes' Latest Scheme to Storm Board Meeting Fizzles.

Goodbye vigilantism, hello public comment​Few causes have had the momentum of the outcry for justice that followed the killing of Oscar Grant. The unarmed, 22-year-old black man was shot to death by then-BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle (who is white) on a station platform on New Year's Day o ... More >>

BART Strike Would Impact 40 Percent of Employees ... In the Communications Department

​When one juxtaposes the terms "union negotiations" and "BART," images of men and women in jumpsuits driving or fixing trains come to mind. You don't think of spokespeople or anyone with the term "multi-media" in his or her job. But you should. Of the five employees in BART's communications depart ... More >>