A Caring Station Agent Who Personally Greets 4,000 Bay Area Rapid Transit Commuters Every Day

Agent of Connection” is a short film by Ivan Cash, a wonderfully prolific filmmaker and interactive artist. In the film, Cash profiled Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station agent William Cromartie, whose face is known to the thousands of commuters he happily greets on a daily basis. Cromartie’s sincerity, warmth and self-confidence is exactly what inspired Cash to make the film.

William Cromartie is a BART station agent who finds meaning through the simple act of saying hello. Every day, William greets 4,000 Oakland commuters— fist bumping, shaking hands, even hugging people from all walks of life. William has worked as a station agent at BART for 20 years and considers it the best job in the world, a statement in and of itself for a man who’s UC Berkeley educated, ran his own business for seven years, and has a 2 hour commute, each direction. William’s passion for helping people feel included comes from his own experience transcending personal barriers.

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.