The BART Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is pleased to present the results of our first community survey. This survey establishes a baseline for measuring changes in community awareness and perceptions of the OIG as we expand our outreach and share the results of our work.

Bay Area residents strongly support independent oversight of BART. Of 1,521 residents contacted, 86% said independent oversight is important, yet only 11% were familiar with the BART OIG.

Once residents learned about our role and results, their views changed substantially. Favorability toward the OIG rose from 12% initially to 58% after a brief description of our independent role, then reached 74% after statements about our work.

Residents responded to tangible results and accountability:

• 76% said learning about funds recovered through OIG investigations made them view the office more favorably.
• 72% responded more favorably to the public disclosure of our audits and investigative work.
• 69% responded more favorably to our follow-up on recommendations, and the same share valued our work to strengthen vendor accountability.

Residents also prioritized system reliability, construction costs, safety, and accountability, issues we already or plan to address in our audits and investigations.

These findings give us a clear reason to share our work more widely. Residents value independent oversight, and learning what the OIG does helps them see its relevance to their priorities and public resources.

Now we’re working to make our role and results more visible. Through information inside BART trains, community events, and expanded outreach, we’re helping more people understand how the OIG protects public resources and holds BART accountable.

OIG Community Survey Results Report October 2026.pdf

Thank you for your continued interest in our work. For access to all BART Office of the Inspector General reports, please visit our website at www.bart.gov/oig.

Sincerely,

Claudette Biemeret
Inspector General
Email: InspectorGeneral@bart.gov
Phone: 510-464-6141