The elevator at the southwest plaza of BART's 24th Street Mission station, the only elevator connecting the street to the station's fare gates, closed for emergency repairs on July 13. It returned to service on Oct. 15, 94 days later, after the reopening date was pushed back five times, Mission Local reported.
Pete Bendix, a wheelchair user who commutes from near Glen Park, told Mission Local that reaching a bus instead means climbing a steep hill that adds up to 15 minutes each way. "It takes time and it's a little bit dangerous," he said.
BART's outage notice said the repair involved the elevator's hydraulic jack and tank. It pointed riders to elevators at 16th Street Mission and Glen Park and to Muni's 14, 14R and 49 lines. Mission Local reported that the contractor had a family emergency that paused work for two weeks, and that the job needed specialized equipment.Under a 2024 settlement, BART agreed to fix or upgrade 75 elevators over 15 years. Rosie Bichell of Legal Aid at Work, who monitors the agreement, said no violations have been recorded but called a three-month outage "pretty concerning." Michelle Uzeta of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund said the law requires agencies to fix accessible features "promptly when they fail."