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Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officials hope to help boost the local economy by stepping up efforts to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses in the transit district.

BART’s Office of Civil Rights recently outlined to the board a change in the agency’s processes in awarding contracts to small firms, especially socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, and those that employ disabled veterans, BART officials said in a prepared statement.

“There are prime opportunities in areas such as electrical, plumbing and concrete where small businesses ought to be playing a larger role at BART,” said Lynette Sweet, a BART board member.

The business opportunity initiatives include implementing a small business bonding program; developing guidelines for unbundling large construction, professional services and procurement contracts, and issuing multiple contracts where possible; exploring the feasibility of an on-call, prequalified list of small business contractors; expanding technical support to small firms during the pre- and post-bidding process; and expanding outreach to the small business community.