BART Board Considering Parcel Tax, New Taser Guns

A $1 billion parcel tax and $141,000 for new Taser guns.

Those are two of the financial options BART board members are considering as they decide how to improve train service and police procedures.

On Thursday, BART directors will debate a proposal to spend $141,000 to purchase an additional 130 stun guns for its police force.

BART police have 60 Tasers that officers check in and check out. The theory behind the extra guns is that each officer will have his or her own Taser and be more familiar with the weapon.

The additional stun guns were among the recommendations a commission made after the Jan. 1, 2009, fatal shooting of BART passenger Oscar Grant by transit agency police officer Johannes Mehserle.

John Burris, an Oakland civil rights attorney who has filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Grant's family, said Tuesday it would be "appropriate" for all BART officers to have Tasers.

However, Burris said officers "should be properly trained on using Tasers and Tasers should only be used consistent with the proper and reasonable use of force."

BART directors also are in the early stages of discussion on a parcel tax to help pay for a new fleet of train cars.

BART is considering spending $3.4 billion for as many as 1,000 new transit cars. The new fleet would be phased in between 2016 and 2024.

BART Board President Bob Franklin said the agency only has a funding commitment of $850 million from the federal government. To get that money, BART needs to come up with $150 million in local funding.

Franklin said the average age of BART's 669 cars is 30 years old. Fifteen percent of BART delays are due to mechanical problems on the trains. As the fleet continues to age, that percentage will increase.

BART officials say the extra cars are needed because weekday ridership is expected to rise from 350,000 to 500,000 by 2035.

Franklin said the district needs to "try everything it can" to raise the money for the new cars.

"BART's reliability is at stake."

He said the parcel tax probably would be close to $1 billion. The earliest it would appear on the ballot would be the November 2012 general election.

Franklin said BART directors would have to decide by December to place the item on that particular ballot in order to mount a successful campaign.

BART's last funding request was a $980 million bond measure approved by voters in 2004 for seismic upgrades.

Critics have said BART should cut costs before asking voters for more money. They also have questioned the average cost of $3.4 million for a new train car.

Franklin said the high price tag is because of the complexity of BART cars. There are a number of electrical components as well as specifications to make the cars fit the BART system.

He said the district also wants cars with better seats and more doors, so passengers can get in and out more easily.

Much of the cost is tied up in designing a car from the ground up, according to Franklin: "This is a sophisticated car."