After a steady decline in the number of warnings and citations issued to fare cheaters on BART since the start of the year, those numbers are again rising, newly released data shows.

The infraction — which results in a fine but no criminal penalties — came under renewed scrutiny by the transit agency’s administration and governing board after staffers revealed the cheats cost the agency up to an estimated $25 million annually. Some board members even went so far as to label fare evasion a “gateway crime” leading to more serious offenses on the system and pointed to a high-profile incident in which a large group of 40 to 60, mostly teenagers, hopped the fare gates before robbing seven people and assaulting two others.

On Tuesday and Wednesday alone, officers made 11 arrests, mostly for outstanding warrants, after contacting people who had skirted the fare gates, according to BART police. BART officers don’t arrest people for hopping the gates, but the initial contact can often lead to the discovery of something more serious, such as possession of a stolen gun, said BART police Chief Carlos Rojas.

Officers do issue warnings and citations, and July marked the first month those citations and warnings had increased after five months of declines. At the same time, the first five months of the year was marked by an increase in crime, according to BART police.

Rojas cautioned against drawing any direct correlations between fare evasion and crime, but he has made stemming fare evasion a top priority, he said, after assuming his role as BART’s top cop at the end of May.

Related Articles Buses replace BART trains between Bay Fair and South Hayward stations this weekend

Man stabbed on BART train in Fremont area, suspect arrested

Opinion: Megaprojects are hard. Let’s get BART extension right

New downtown San Jose transit village comes into view

Editorial: Electing Allen and Wallace crucial for BART’s solvency “We’re … just doing our best to make sure anybody who fare evades, when we are present, gets a warning or a citation and everyone is paying their fair share,” he said. “There are a lot of people who pay, and the expectation is that everyone pays.”

As part of its Fiscal Year 2018 budget, which began on July 1, BART also set aside $3 million on a mix of solutions to counter fare cheats, such as taller barriers around the paid area of stations, more civilian security personnel to check for tickets on trains and video analysis software to better understand where people are slipping past fare gates at stations.

Some of that work has already begun. Five-foot tall enclosures have already been installed around the paid area at the Fremont and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations. And, last month, BART unveiled taller barriers at the Downtown Berkeley station.