Bart To Replace Seat-hog Law With Etiquette Campaign

BART directors made it clear Thursday that the so-called seat-hog ordinance is doomed, likely to be replaced by an etiquette campaign or possibly a system in which violators are temporarily banned. Board President Rebecca Saltzman proposed rescinding the law that allows police to fine BART riders who occupy more than a single seat during crowded commute hours. Saltzman, who has always opposed the law, said she sought to have it rescinded because she considers it a waste of limited police resources, a potential cause of more delays and something that could lead toward targeting homeless people and possible use of force. “This is not the way to go,” she said, adding that she would support an expanded etiquette campaign that reminds riders not to take more than one seat, to take off their backpacks and generally behave themselves. Debra Allen, a director from Clayton, said she surveyed her constituents in Contra Costa County and found that many of them thought BART had better things to do than issue citations to people storing their suitcases on the seat next to them or sleeping across two seats. “I’m not willing to just kick this thing to the curb and depend on the ethical standards of the people on the train,” he said. BART has a code of conduct, adopted in 2013, but it doesn’t include taking more than one seat, and it has no penalties, aside from allowing BART police to escort the offender from the system.