OAKLAND (KRON) — A critic of BART is blasting the transit agency for not caring about public safety.
In response to a KRON public information request, BART disclosed that more than 70 percent of the surveillance cameras onboard trains are fake.
State senator Steve Glazer called BART’s promise to add working cameras “a hollow cover-up for years of bad choices.”
Last month, a man was shot on a train, raising questions about security video.
At the time of that incident, of 198 cameras that could record, a quarter of them was not in operation.
BART says it is replacing its entire fleet of trains and that every car will be equipped with cutting-edge cameras producing footage that can be watched live from a central monitoring station. Those cars are expected to arrive between 2017 and 2021.
Here is Glazer’s full statement:
“BART’s disclosure that 77% of their train cameras are fake or not working is another example of their lack of concern for rider safety.
With one hand, BART had the money to pay exorbitant raises to their workers and managers, and now with the other hand they claim their pocket is empty for new trains and safety improvements.
BART’s recent promise to add working cameras is a hollow cover-up for years of bad choices.”