SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The BART board voted to spend millions of dollars to continue and expand programs that are meant to improve the quality of life for those on the transit system.

Some of those are addressing issues related to homelessness.

There will be more smiling faces seen inside BART elevators at their busiest downtown stations.  

That’s because the BART board voted to continue the elevator attendant program put into place last year at both the Civic Center and Powell Street stations.

Starting in the fall, attendants will also be manning the elevators at the Montgomery and Embarcadero stops.

“That means clean, drug-free, no abuse elevators for our riders, people really rely on elevators and the status of our elevator system wide,” a BART spokesperson said. “You don’t know if it’s going to clean, you don’t know who’s going to be using it and having an actual person in the elevator that ensures no illegal activity takes place.”

It’s just one of a package of quality of life initiatives approved by the board who green lighted the spending of close to $10 million over three years. 

Some of that money will also go to help pay for pit stops — public bathrooms with attendants outside three city stations.  

Other dollars will be dedicated to help deal with the homeless on the system.

The transit agency currently funds homeless outreach teams dedicated to the BART trains and stops in the city and Contra Costa County.

Now they will help pay for hot teams in Alameda County and San Mateo County, including SFO.

“These are teams that go into trains and stations and they asked the homeless individuals, ‘can I take you to a warming station, do you need something to eat, can I take you to a shelter, what services do you need, what when was the last time you saw a doctor?’”

One woman who says she’s been homeless since the spring thinks it’s a good idea.

“I think it’s a great idea because some of us is on the street by no choice and they could help us,” she said. 

BART says the idea is to connect the homeless with resources to help keep them from using the transit system as a shelter.