We know recent service disruptions were frustrating and disruptive for riders. The BART Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is conducting an independent performance audit to understand what happened, why it happened, and what needs to change.

Our new video explains how the OIG’s oversight role is established under state law and what that means in moments like this. It describes how we look beyond the immediate failure to examine whether broader issues—such as patterns, risks, data quality, staffing, or decision-making—contributed to the disruption. The video also clarifies the distinction between our audit and the consultants’ technical root cause analysis: while consultants determine what specifically broke and how to repair it, our audit evaluates how the organization got there and what systemic improvements are needed to prevent similar failures in the future. As the video puts it, consultants identify the spark; we evaluate the entire fire-prevention system.

The video also highlights that our work is guided by Government Auditing Standards, ensuring that our findings are objective, evidence-based, and focused on improving performance and accountability. This audit is not about assigning blame. It is about helping BART strengthen reliability and rebuild rider trust.

📺 Watch the video:

Thank you for your continued interest in our work. 

Sincerely,

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