Bay Area transit agencies reported major policy changes this week, with Muni ending the monthly fast pass and BART once again allowing its police officers to carry taser guns.
On Wednesday, Muni Diaries reported that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is switching from the fast pass system to TransLink. Online sales for monthly passes end on June 22. Muni plans on making the fast pass obsolete by Nov. 1. Customers will have to use TransLink, which plans to change its name to Clipper on June 16. Each TransLink/Clipper card has a $5 surcharge, but there are chances to get one for free with the numerous giveaways that the company has provided.
On Monday, KTVU reported on BART officers being allowed to carry tasers. The agency’s police officers had to surrender their tasers mid-April because of an incident in which a BART police sergeant inappropriately discharged his weapon. To prevent misuse of tasers, officers were retrained in the use of the weapon and given new protocol. BART Police Chief Daschel Butler told KTVU that in order to gain back their tasers, officers would have to go through training, which involved watching a 15-minute DVD on BART’s updated policies for carrying tasers and learning to carry the stun gun on their non-shooting side.
