Four passengers fainted on San Franciso-bound BART trains Tuesday causing major delays during the morning commute, according to the transit agency.
Three riders on different trains traveling from Pittsburg passed out and one person on a Dublin train also fainted, according to BART spokesman Jim Allison. A fall and an unspecified medical problem on two other trains also caused delays, he said. Although most of the passengers refused medical treatment, BART has paramedics on standby weekdays at the West Oakland and Embarcadero stations during peak commute hours in the morning and afternoon, Allison said.
Despite the heavy rains this morning, ridership on trains from the East Bay to San Francisco was down slightly compared to last Tuesday, so it’s unclear if crowding might have contributed to the medical problems. However, Allison said BART trains were designed to provide air flow for seated passengers, so people who are standing may find that crowded cars are stuffy. In the new fleet of train cars, air will flow from the ceiling and temperatures will adjust automatically.
Lisa P. White covers Concord and Pleasant Hill. Contact her at 925-943-8011. Follow her at Twitter.com/lisa_p_white.