BART to crack down on ‘seat hogs’ with fines

“Seat hogs” who take up more than their fair share of space on crowded BART trains will soon be in for an expensive penalty after BART directors approved a new rule Thursday making it a ticket-able offense to use an empty seat for a backpack or luggage, or to stretch out.

People who take up more than a single seat during commute hours will first be given a warning. After that, the first ticket will cost them $100. The penalty will increase to $200 for a second violation and to $500 after that.

People whose size or medical condition requires them to occupy more than a single space will be exempt.

The ordinance will be enforced from 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7:30 p.m., the peak hours for BART commuters.

The ordinance gives BART police the legal leverage to force greedy passengers to slide over or sit up, said BART Director Joel Keller, who proposed the measure, which the board approved by a 5-4 vote.

“I’m not interested in seeing anyone get fined. I’m interested in seeing people only occupy one seat,” Keller said Thursday. “People pay a lot of money for a seat. In those rare cases where we have some knucklehead who refuses to give up a seat, at least an officer has authority to write a ticket.”

Homeless concerns

Matt Worley from Nashville holds onto his bags as he rides the SFO-bound BART train April 14, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. Matt Worley from Nashville holds onto his bags as he rides the SFO-bound BART train April 14, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 37 Caption Close BART to crack down on ‘seat hogs’ with fines 1 / 37 Back to Gallery

Officer Keith Garcia, president of the BART Police Officers’ Association, said Thursday he’s fine with the ordinance but that it will result in heavy enforcement against homeless riders.

“Most of these complaints are going to be against the homeless,” he said. “That may cause a backlash.”

Keller said the ordinance will not be used to single out the homeless.

“I think it’s bigger than that,” he said in an earlier interview. “There are homeless people on our trains taking more than one seat, but there are also people with backpacks, with luggage, with other things occupying seats. This is not an effort to target or harass anyone, merely an effort to make seats available.”

If the ordinance is enforced unevenly against the homeless, Keller said, he will seek to have it reconsidered.

Sonja Trauss, who was at the meeting on a separate issue as founder of the pro-development San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation, said the ordinance is a bad idea because it takes responsibility out of the hands of regular people and gives it to law enforcement.

“I don’t want to live in a society where people are giving others side-eyes and then calling police,” Trauss said. Instead, she said, people should be able to respectfully request others move their things to free up seats because “that’s the way it should be.”

BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey said the rule is directed more at people using seats as footrests, rather than those weighed down with luggage, and he expected most to comply voluntarily.

“It’s not the suitcases. It’s the feet on the seats,” he said. “It’s displaying rude and boorish behavior.”

Trying to stop the spreading

Keller’s regulation of BART manners isn’t the first official foray into public transportation etiquette. New York City’s subway system has a series of “Courtesy Counts” posters that tell riders to take off their backpacks, avoid holding doors and playing on poles, eating and, most notably, spreading their legs. The anti-man-spreading poster — “Dude: Stop the spreading please” — attracted worldwide attention and produced a plethora of jokes and Internet memes.

The new rules won’t go into effect until after BART police develop an enforcement policy and the board reviews it.

Board President Tom Radulovich voted against the measure, as did board members Nick Josefowitz, Robert Raburn and Rebecca Saltzman. Vice President Gail Murray voted for it, as did board members Thomas Blalock, John McPartland, Zakhary Mallett and Keller.

Saltzman said she is concerned enforcement may exacerbate train delays.

“We haven’t done any auxiliary public education. We’re jumping to making an etiquette violation a crime,” she said. “When trains are full, there are a lot of delays for police activity.”

Courteous traveler

Art Monge, a BART rider from Chicago, said he sees why the ordinance was passed. He had just flown into San Francisco on Thursday and had his baggage with him on the train — but it wasn’t taking up another seat.

“I think if the train were busy, most people would have the decency to put their stuff down off the seat. If people won’t move their stuff, I think it makes sense during peak periods,” he said of the ordinance.

Nancy Dooley, a rider taking BART back home to Pacifica, said the measure might be a useful tool but seems unnecessary.

“I know it’s rude,” she said of seat hogging, “but I think the BART police have better stuff to do.”

Chronicle staff writer Jenna Lyons contributed to this report.

Evan Sernoffsky and Kale Williams are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @sfkale