SAN FRANCISCO —

Riders of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) have been asking for a way to be able to quickly and discreetly report any crimes or suspicious activity they see while on board. Now, they will soon have the ability to do so.

A smartphone app which allows riders to inform BART on any activities safely and silently will soon be produced and made available, the transit agency announced Thursday.

“Riders will be able to upload pictures and location information, choose comments from dropdown menus or write their own comments in text boxes,” said BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey.

The app will have silent photo and flash-free features, and will be GPS-enabled.

ELERTS Corporation, which has made apps for other transit agencies—Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)—will be responsible for the creation of the BART app.

The app is expected to be available from the BART website within a few months.

According to Rainey, BART will be the first transit agency to provide both Spanish and Simplified Chinese language options for an app.

BART will produce an informational campaign to let riders know when the app is ready.

Ruben Dominguez filed this report.