BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin celebrates 30 years of service, 53 years of riding BART

BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin at age 2 with his mother and grandparents at Lake Merritt Station on BART's opening day, September 11, 1972.

For two-year-old Kevin Franklin, riding BART for the first time was something of a wonder. The trains were big, shiny, and fast. The stations, grandiose and cathedral-like. And the people watching, unparalleled.

The toddler was one of the lucky Bay Area residents to ride BART the day it all began. He and his family attended opening day of the regional transit system on September 11, 1972, taking the train from Lake Merritt Station to Fremont Station and back. Though the ride took just about an hour, it left a lasting impression on him.

"BART was something that made a kid feel like they could go anywhere," he said. "It was like BART connected me to all these places to go that were so much fun."

Five decades later, Franklin is serving as the Chief of BART Police. This week, he celebrated thirty years with BART.

Chief Kevin Franklin with his parents, wife, and daughter at the BART legacy car retirement party at MacArthur Station in 2024.

During his tenure as chief, crime on BART has plummeted. In 2025, crime dropped by 41% from the previous year, a testament to smart safety strategies, such as doubling the officer presence on trains and in stations, hardworking staff, and investment in initiatives and infrastructure, including new fare gates at all 50 stations.

For Chief Franklin, it's a point of pride to have ridden BART on its very first day. He said it makes him feel "nostalgic and connected" to a transit system he's used his entire life.

In one photograph from the day - the opening of BART was something you'd be sure to bring a camera to - a bite-sized Chief Franklin can be seen holding his mother's hand on the platform, smiling as his grandparents look on. In another black-and-white image, Chief Franklin peers into the Train Operator's cab, his tiny hands on the glass.

2-year-old Chief Franklin (left) on BART with his grandfather during BART's opening day on September 11, 1972.

"I see so many things that are still the same," he said, noting a church in the background of a photo that's still standing and a parking lot that hasn't been razed. "I'm connected to it in a lot of ways."

Of course, not everything has stayed the same. Exhibit A: a man smoking a corncob pipe in the background of the photo below.

Growing up in Oakland, Chief Franklin remembers how BART seemed to "open up the Bay Area."

"We could go anywhere," he said. "I remember riding down to Fremont, and it felt like it was almost a foreign country because it was so far away. But you could get there on BART." Often, he'd hop on BART "just to go someplace," with no destination in mind.

Though he doesn't clearly recall BART's 1972 opening day, he does remember many opening days thereafter - especially the first day San Francisco International Airport Station went into service in 2003.

"We were standing on the platform when the very first train arrived carrying the travelers heading off to their destinations around the world," Chief Franklin said. He could feel a twinge of recognition with those bleary-eyed travelers, taking BART to a location where once there was no BART. Chief Franklin had a hand in planning the station and its safety features.

2-year-old Chief Franklin pictured with his mother and grandparents on the platform at Lake Merritt Station on BART's opening day on September 11, 1972.

Chief Franklin has also seen BART evolve and change profoundly. He saw ridership explode in the 90s onwards, parking lots become multistoried garages, and stations that started as ideas open to the public.

"It felt like the expansion of BART really changed what a police officer had to do," he said. "It was a lot simpler in the 80s, when there were fewer passengers, facilities, and stations. The 90s were that period where things really started to grow."

One of the most profound changes Chief Franklin experienced in his tenure as a police officer came after the tragic shooting death of Oscar Grant by a BART Police officer.

"That was a world-changing event for us and for the community," he said. "We went through that and had a lot of pain, and a lot of change came out of that."

(L to R): Deputy Chief Joshua Patzer, POST representative and former BART PD officer Gary Clark, BART PD Chief of Staff Olivia Jackson, Deputy Chief Alan Love, Chief Franklin, and Deputy Chief Gina Galetti at a December 2025 BART Board meeting after Chief Franklin was presented with the Executive Certificate from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

In the aftermath of the tragedy, BART Police showed its "willingness to innovate," Chief Franklin said. "This was a situation where we had an opportunity to grow and change. So, we did, in training, hiring, supervision - nearly every facet of the department."

In 2021, BART Police formally established its Progressive Policing Bureau, which deploys unarmed civilians in situations where an armed police officer may not be appropriate, such as mental health crises.

"What have we done and accomplished in 30 years? The growth is great. But implementing a crisis intervention team is groundbreaking," he said.

Chief Franklin's grandparents pictured on BART during its opening day, September 11, 1972.

While BART has changed profoundly since opening day in 1972, so has Chief Franklin. But that sense of wonder a young boy felt riding BART remains to this day. Still, he can recall that majestic feeling of seeing the Port of Oakland cranes creep along the shoreline, only to enter the darkness of the Transbay Tube, then emerge in downtown San Francisco, dwarfed by skyscrapers.

"I just remember feeling so small," he said.

Chief Franklin is looking to the future with excitement, especially as BART faces a staggering financial crisis after ridership plummeted during the pandemic.

"I'm excited to be part of 'the New BART' and the efforts to show riders the positive changes that have resulted from our efforts to reimagine policing and deliver safe, clean, and reliable transit."

A previous version of this article was published in 2022.