Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Homeless ridership on BART trains has surged in recent months, even as the transit agency has tried to keep its stations from turning into de facto shelters.

More than twice as many apparently homeless people are riding trains on weekends as in 2018, according to newly obtained agency records. The number of homeless people riding trains on weekdays is up nearly 50%.

“The data suggests we’re moving them out of stations and onto trains,” said Debora Allen, a member of BART’s Board of Directors.

BART embarked on a “blitz” operation in April in which agency police officers and yellow-vested staff members swarmed downtown San Francisco stations at dawn. It mainly targeted fare-jumpers, but BART also discouraged homeless people from camping in station halls and on stairwells. The blitz coincided with efforts to mop and buff floors more frequently.

Combined, these measures led to a sharp drop in transients in downtown San Francisco stations, from 142 that BART staffers counted on a weekday in May 2018 to 47 on a weekday in June of this year.

But on trains, the numbers are climbing.

Staffers in BART’s marketing and research department counted an average of 160 homeless people for every 100 cars on weekends in April, May and June, up from 79 transients during the same period last year. BART considered people homeless if they fit a variety of criteria, including wearing dirty clothes or worn-out shoes, carrying belongings, and asking for food or money.

On weekdays, longer and more crowded trains caused homeless people to scatter a bit more. Staffers counted an average of 64 transients in every 100 cars during the three-month period this year, compared with 45 last year.

During wet winter months, more homeless people sought refuge on trains. From January through March, 292 were counted for every 100 train cars on weekends, up from 125 last year.

The Chronicle obtained the numbers from BART through a public records request.

Some BART officials interpreted the numbers as evidence that the agency hasn’t reduced the number of transients on the system — it’s only shuffled people around. To others, the data show the magnitude of a crisis that is beyond BART’s ability to handle by itself.

“We don’t make assumptions as to why someone spends their time on BART trains,” said agency spokeswoman Alicia Trost. “We continue to push for a regional approach to the homeless crisis and work with the counties we serve.”

The trend seemed apparent Tuesday morning, when several homeless people sat on trains among the crowds heading to work. Roy Thomas propped his feet up on a seat near the door that was reserved for elderly or disabled people. He wore a belt made from “caution” tape and no shoes. Joe Dennis carried his luggage in a wheelchair with a tarp tied over it. Anthony Wayne Howard said he felt like he’s “trapped in a loop,” riding from one side of the bay to the other.

By the numbers Homeless people counted on BART trains, per 100 cars. October-December 2017 Weekday: 24. Weekend: 55. Seven-day average: 33 January-March 2018 Weekday: 61. Weekend: 125. Seven-day average: 77 April-June 2018 Weekday: 45. Weekend: 79. Seven-day average: 55 July-September 2018 Weekday: 46. Weekend: 93. Seven-day average: 60 October-December 2018 Weekday: 66. Weekend: 160. Seven-day average: 93 January-March 2019 Weekday: 104. Weekend: 292. Seven-day average: 160 April-June 2019 Weekday: 64. Weekend: 160. Seven-day average: 91 Source: BART marketing and research

BART directors who were elected to run a transit agency have struggled with their unofficial role as social services providers. Several have suggested more law enforcement, new fare gates and other forms of station “hardening” to cut down on homeless ridership. Others emphasize a plan for civilian ambassadors who would roam the trains and platforms, helping people in need and giving passengers a sense of security.

To BART board President Bevan Dufty of San Francisco, the increased visibility of homeless people on trains makes the need for a new outreach team more urgent. He has called for a new contract to replace BART’s partnership with San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team, who are assigned to help people get services, not provide security for BART. City homeless czar Jeff Kositsky supports the idea.

“The holy grail for turning around public opinion at BART is an (official) presence on trains,” Dufty said.

Allen, whose district encompasses the suburbs of central Contra Costa County, is wary of an ambassador program.

“You roll out a program like that, you have to have supervisors, you have to have management, you need people to write up incidents,” she said. She fears the cost to BART would quickly escalate.

Allen said BART should direct its energy and money toward replacing its fare gates with something harder to get around without paying. She also introduced a controversial anti-panhandling ordinance in the paid areas of BART, which the board is still considering. That suggestion came on the heels of an aborted “seat hog” ban, aimed at homeless people who sleep on more than one seat. BART passed that rule in 2016, then repealed it the following year.

Such policing measures have caused emotional debates on the board, and directors at times worry about losing sight of the larger goal of retaining ridership.

“If we’re asking, ‘Should homeless people be allowed in our transit system?’ then what the hell is wrong with us?” said director Janice Li of San Francisco. “Trains, buses, public transit — that’s where you see the plethora of humanity in the Bay Area.”

While board directors wrestle with the big picture, managers are trying a mix of solutions on a daily basis: putting police officers at entryways to deter fare evaders, putting attendants in elevators to prevent drug use and sleeping, and having outreach workers assist homeless people at the end of the line and drive them to shelters or warming centers.

The financial stakes for BART are high. The transit agency relies on fares for more than two-thirds of its operating costs, but some fed-up riders are peeling off. Ridership peaked at 128.5 million passengers in 2016 and has fallen for the two years since — to 124.2 million in 2017 and 120.6 million last year.

That slump could get worse. If people encounter unsavory or erratic behavior — particularly drug use or mental illness — in the confined space of a moving train, “it’s a deal breaker,” Dufty said.

Many passengers have no choice but to take BART. Some who were riding to work Tuesday said they’ve grown resigned to scenes of obvious despair.

“It’s really sad to see homeless people sitting down passed out, or sleeping on trains, or sometimes going to the bathroom on a seat,” said Heather Hood of Oakland. “Yes, it sucks as a rider. But it’s also sad to know that’s the only place people feel safe.”

She and several other riders interviewed defended BART, saying it shouldn’t be saddled with the burdens of a city or county.

“We need more housing, we need more affordable housing,” Hood said. “BART just doesn’t have the resources.”

John Taylor, who lives in Vacaville and boards BART in Richmond for his commute into San Francisco, said he sees a lot of people who appear to be homeless riding on “the earlier trains out of Richmond.”

That’s where Roy Thomas awoke at about 9 a.m. Tuesday, rubbed his eyes and walked from a train onto the platform. He picked through a garbage can, searching for materials to recycle.

Thomas had nowhere to go. He said he’d probably hop on a southbound train for Warm Springs, the last stop 40 miles down the line.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan