El Cerrito Plaza BART Station — Local services in El Cerrito

Can I give it -100 stars? The whole bart system is garbage, dirty trains, stations. I don't get their janitors make 100k+ a year with such dirty stations. DON'T DEPEND on the Bart police to do anything, for the past 3 years I rode the bart and not once have I seen police patrol the station or trains. They have to be the laziest police around. I see people playing loud music everyday on the same trains, dancing in the trains and homeless just sleeping and yelling at riders. Such a garbage system, it's almost like it's a corrupt system from my point of view. I see riders getting out of the station in front of the agents and police without paying, they do nothing. These riders just walk out the swing gate in front of them. Police are just sitting in their cars, doing nothing. Your better off spending 1 hour in traffic to get you the city. If my commute was not over 1.5 hours one way in the car and paying $25 for parking, I would drive to work. How many times have riders been attacked, property stolen, I cant even count the number. They want to raise the fares yet they do nothing to improve anything. US metro system is pure $H!@, they should pay riders to use it. How about hire someone to wash/clean the trains? I been to other countries which are poor and their metro is clean like it was brand new, yet those trains are over 20 years old. If you are a rider and see people just getting out without paying and while you pay, message the police every single day. Let's get these lazy police to actually...

I frequently use this transportation hub to begin a trip to far flung areas of the SF Bay Area. You have BART that goes many places, AC Transit for local service. Busses to San Rafael, Napa, Vallejo, Fairfield, Westcat for West Contra Costa county north of Richmond - including a transfer in Hercules on to Martinez which, if you time it right, is faster and cheaper than using BART/County Connection bus.

Amtrak destinations throughout California are available one BART stop away in Richmond. The only train through the area that doesn't stop in Richmond is the Coast Starlight.

I would rate this 5 stars except that right now (Summer 2018) the station is difficult to navigate due to renovations.

If you're a leisurely cyclist, get off BART here and take the Ohlone Greenway South all the way to Berkeley, or the combination Ohlone/Richmond Greenway North then West to Pt. Richmond - then go through the tunnel to Miller Knox...

This review is really for the BART system itself. poorly designed and run for decades, full of homeless people, always dirty and often dangerous. they would rather spend their time and money building extensions to nowhere which barely get used, making iconic stations boring and ugly, or paying their janitors over $200k/yr to sleep in closets than improving service and security in their core system. I used to despise fare evaders, but I think if I ride BART again I will join them, because I feel like a chump paying for such lousy service, especially when they're already getting so much...