BART’s station cleanliness ratings increase in latest rider survey results

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has improved its station cleanliness rider scores in the quarterly performance report for the fourth quarter of FY 2019.

Its biggest year over year ratings improvement was for elevator cleanliness, with 58.1 percent of riders giving a “good” or “excellent” rating, up from 42.8 percent for the same quarter of last year.

One main factor in the increase is the elevator attendant program launched in April of 2018 at the Powell Street and Civic Center stations. It has virtually eliminated inappropriate behavior in these station elevators and in July, the BART Board of Directors voted to expand the program to the Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stations as early as this fall.

The ratings are compiled using rider responses to BART’s Passenger Environment Survey (PES) questionnaires. The questionnaires are available in English, Spanish and Chinese and are handed out on board trains by employee survey takers. Employee survey takers work throughout BART operating hours, including evenings and weekends to mirror the ridership. BART collects between 5,000 and 6,000 questionnaires per quarter.

Other increases were seen in the percentage of riders rating the cleanliness of station platforms as “good” or “excellent.” It was 69.8 percent, up from 63.3 percent the same quarter last year. Restroom cleanliness rated as “good or excellent” reached 40.6 percent, compared to 35.2 percent for the fourth quarter of last year.

BART has also seen improvements since three new survey categories were introduced in the first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year to help further address quality of life issues. The three new categories are Cleanliness of Concourse, Escalator Cleanliness and Stairwell Cleanliness. Cleanliness of Concourse received a 65.3 percent rider rating in the fourth quarter, compared to 62.7 percent in the first quarter. Escalator Cleanliness was up to 65.3 percent from 62.7 percent in that same time frame comparison; and Stairwell Cleanliness ratings increased to 60.2 percent for the fourth quarter from 56.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019.

Improved cleanliness is part of BART’s new General Manager Bob Powers’ plan to put riders first.

“We are committed to improving the customer experience through cleaner stations and have revamped our approach to include focused overnight cleanings of our busiest stations,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “We believe our efforts are reflected in these latest ratings and we will continue to prioritize riders with our plan to hire 15 new cleaners over the next six months.”

The BART Board of Directors will hear the results of the latest Quarterly Performance Report at their meeting on August 22.