New BART Campaign Aims To Welcome All

A campaign to make everyone feel welcome on BART in light of the nation's current political climate was announced this week, a BART spokesman said.

"Bay Area Rides Together" is a poster campaign on trains throughout the BART system to affirm that everyone is welcome to ride.

"What we're responding to mostly is the general political climate," BART spokesman Chris Filippi said.

According to Filippi, riders have told BART officials they want them to affirm a welcoming message because of the overall political environment. The campaign is not in response to any particular incident, Filippi said.

Nearly 300 colorful posters emphasizing inclusiveness have been placed inside trains to promote safety and a welcoming attitude.

One poster has the word "welcome" printed in more than a dozen languages. The second shows twelve raised hands in a variety of colors and the third shows numerous people of all kinds together, from the disabled to
racial minorities.

Filippi said the campaign is meant to reaffirm BART's core values and the agency's stand against discrimination. BART officials hope the campaign drives those values home.

In November, a video of a woman ranting about another woman's ethnicity on a BART train went viral on social media.

Threats and harassment are taken seriously by BART, BART officials said. Anyone who is a victim of harassment or witnesses it can call BART police at (510) 464-5000 or get in touch with them using the BART Watch App at www.bart.gov/BARTWatch.

Filippi said the response to the posters, which have been in trains for a couple of weeks, has been "overwhelmingly positive."

— By Bay City News Service / Images via BART