SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — “We can be confident and say to our riders that this will not happen again,” said former BART Board of Director Bevin Dufty in 2019.
The soundbite didn’t age well.
“It feels like a broken promise because it has happened again, and again. What do you say to to riders who have a hard time trusting what the BART Board of Directors has to say?” ABC7 News Investigative Reporter Melanie Woodrow asked Edward Wright, BART Board of Director of District 9.
“Well, I think that trust is something that’s really hard won and it’s easy to lose,” said Wright.
“Regardless of an explanation, regardless of accountability, what people just want is to know that when they show up at their BART station there’s going to be a train ready and waiting for them,” he continued.
Trains Friday morning were not ready and waiting. BART service was suspended systemwide due to a computer equipment problem.
VIDEO: Full BART service resumes after hours-long systemwide shutdown due to computer equipment problem
Full BART service is expected to resume after a nearly seven-hour systemwide shutdown halted trains Friday morning due to a computer equipment problem, leaving commuters frustrated.
Edward Wright was elected to the BART Board of Directors in November. Reliability was one of the platforms he ran on.
“Since November, what have you been able to do to improve that reliability?” asked Woodrow.
“So we’ve really been focused on accountability for the system, including making sure that we’re upgrading our systems,” said Wright.
It was a system upgrade that led to the failure overnight, making for a tough Friday morning commute.
“A lot of people are wondering about the timing of these system upgrades. Why not do them on the weekends?” asked Woodrow.
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“BART is a large and complex system and we are constantly doing system updates and upgrades,” said Wright.
Jim Wunderman is president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, which in the 1950s established a committee which led to the legislation that created BART.
“I think BART just has to establish that it can operate the system reliably not just most of the time, but all the time,” said Wunderman.
“Who should be held accountable when BART doesn’t function and BART isn’t reliable?” asked Woodrow.
“It’s always management’s responsibility,” said Wunderman.
MORE: BART shutdown ‘only a taste of what’s to come’ if not funded, Sen. Wiener says in grave warning
We wanted to talk with BART General Manager Bob Powers but BART’s spokesperson said he’s out of state on a planned vacation.
“When you go on vacation, when you’re running an organization like BART there are people behind you who should be picking up the slack,” said Wunderman.
BART’s board of directors will meet next Thursday for what Wright says will be a robust discussion.
“What are the tough questions you’re going to be asking during that discussion?” asked Woodrow.
“What went wrong? What happened? When should we have known that something was going wrong? What could have been done to prevent it? And what are we doing to make sure this does not happen again in the future?” said Wright.
Take a look at more stories by the ABC7 News I-Team.
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