SFO International Airport sees spike in homeless population

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San Francisco International Airport sees spike in homeless population amid city's crackdown

An aggressive crackdown on homelessness in San Francisco is pushing unhoused individuals into neighboring communities and even to transit hubs like San Francisco International Airport (SFO), according to airport officials.

At a June 17 SFO Commission meeting, Eva Cheong, managing director of airport services, reported a sharp rise in the number of homeless people encountered at the airport's BART station.

She said they used to make contact with 222 homeless people a week in 2024. Now, that number has jumped to 414, nearly double.

Cheong attributed the spike to San Francisco's tightened enforcement measures.

"As people get pushed out of the city neighborhoods, we've seen them coming out into [this area]. Millbrae is having an issue. We have conversations regularly with Millbrae and San Bruno for the BART station issues that we were having as well," Cheong said.

On Friday, Spencer Jeffery, an unhoused man who lives in San Francisco, was spotted at the Millbrae BART station boarding a train without paying a fare.

"[San Francisco police] have been cracking down and there's a lot of people that are just finding other places to go," Jeffery said. "I think it's ridiculous. It's like homelessness has become illegal."

Some BART passengers said they have noticed system improvements in safety and cleanliness — especially during the daytime — and credit recent infrastructure changes like the new fare gates.

"I avoid taking it at night. So maybe it's a different situation at night. But at least during the day, it's definitely much safer than how it used to be, maybe like a year, maybe even a few months ago," said Sarangoo Otgonbaatar, a frequent BART rider who commutes between Berkeley and Millbrae three to four times per week. "I would remember seeing people actually take drugs on BART a year ago. But then now, I haven't seen anyone like that."

While the issues of homelessness and fare evasion have not been entirely resolved, they are not new concerns. In 2023, Millbrae's then-Mayor Ann Schneider highlighted the burden placed on end-of-the-line stations.

"We get 30 to 50 of the unhoused pushed into Millbrae," Schneider said at the time.

Millbrae's current mayor, Anders Fung, said the city is working with BART and other agencies to address the situation through both enforcement and services.

"Millbrae recently has enacted an ordinance of no camping. That also put more tools in our toolbox so that our law enforcement officials can help, assist those who are experiencing long-term homelessness, chronic homelessness," Fung explained.

Both Millbrae and SFO stations are partnering with social workers to connect unhoused individuals with services and resources.

"What we are doing is strengthening our infrastructure so it's harder to get into the system without paying," said BART spokesperson Chris Filippi. "And then once you're in the system, you're going to see a larger, visible safety presence, both sworn officers and the non-sworn officers."

BART expects to finish installing new, more secure fare gates at all stations by the end of 2025. Riders like Otgonbaatar hope that a combination of tougher fare enforcement and social outreach will lead to lasting improvements.

SFO and the San Francisco Mayor's Office declined to comment for this story.

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SFO机场安检外的休息区域每隔十几分钟广播噪音，每隔三十分钟广播警示提示。