Technicians have begun installing additional security cameras to cover the interiors of all 669 BART train cars in San Francisco at a cost of $1.42 million, according to BART officials. The transit agency committed on Jan. 20 to using working cameras on all of its train cars after it was revealed in the aftermath of a fatal shooting on a train at the West Oakland station on Jan. 9 that not all cameras were real and many of them were decoys that were used as a deterrent. BART officials said they will use funds from their operating budget to pay for the new cameras. They said they may also apply for federal funds to cover a portion of the cost if they’re available.
The new digital cameras are being installed on a regular basis during maintenance hours, without disrupting service, transit agency officials said. The new cameras will augment the existing network of security infrastructure, which includes current surveillance on trains, on platforms, outside stations, inside stations and on police officers themselves, BART officials said. BART said it will get the full value of the new equipment because the useful life of the new digital cameras is between six and seven years, which coincides with the final decommissioning of its old fleet of cars. BART said its new train cars, which are in production and are set to begin arriving next year, are designed with built-in cameras.
The transit agency said its original in-train camera deployment included a mix of real and decoy cameras which were installed during the late 1990s and early 2000s before the wide use of digital recording, which was primarily effective as a deterrent against vandalism.
