Grace Crunican, Bay Area Rapid Transit’s new general manager , extended an open hand to meet with protesters and other commuters who have complaints about the transit system.
Crunican said she will, “sit down with the customers from the first day,” in an Aug. 31 press conference.
BART has already reached out to the protesters and the American Civil Liberties Union, which wrote a letter to BART’s Board of Directors last month disapproving of BART’s decision to cut cell phone service at an Aug. 11 protest.
BART protests have been ongoing since BART chose to cut cell phone service at that protest, which had been organized by No Justice No BART in response to a July 3 incident when BART police fatally shot a homeless man named Charles Hill, after he allegedly attacked them with a knife. Since Aug. 11, weekly protests have been organized by the group Anonymous.
While protesters declined to meet with BART officials, the union had been engaged in discussions with high-level BART executives before Crunican took office, according to BART spokesperson Luna Salaver.
“I’m not sneaky,” Crunican said at the press conference. “I’m a straightforward person. I get straight to the punch line.”
Crunican’s goal is to continue to foster “an atmosphere of accountability” that benefits all commuters, not just the protesters, according to Salaver.
“Grace, when she made her announcement was stating that she is willing to meet with all people, members of the media, members of the community, passengers at large,” Salaver said. “We do have a tradition of reaching out to community members and organizations to try and resolve issues.”
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