Article snippet: Originally opened in 1972, Bay Area Rapid Transit was once the envy of all public transportation agencies all across the United States. With its futuristic trains traveling at high speeds connecting various points of the East Bay and the peninsula to Downtown San Francisco, BART trains via the Transbay Tube gave San Francisco Bay area commuters a fast and inexpensive alternative to the always-gridlocked Bay Bridge and highways. But fast forward four decades, the transit system is now an abhorrent mess. Its trains are aging and dirty. Many of its stations reek of stench from urine and human feces. And in certain areas the trains are downright dangerous, as teenage gangs blithely attack and rob defenseless passengers without any repercussions. On Thursday, members of BART’s board of directors took a field trip after their biweekly meeting to “tour” the Powell Street Station in Downtown San Francisco. According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the group was greeted by a fresh puddle of urine, homeless people sleeping in hallways, intravenous drug users, dirty floors, and elevators and escalators used regularly as restrooms. This should really be nothing new to the overseers of BART, which in recent years has become another victim of Bay Area’s failed progressive politics: While what those board members saw — and smelled — at the Powell Street Station ought to shock them, chances are nothing will be done to substantively “fix” BART. To do so would require ... Link to the full article to read more