Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Is On Its Last Leg

 

I remember when BART was open back in 1972, it was all the rage. It linked San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont and then Concord and Pittsburg. BART is coming to the San Jose in 2017. It’s about time.The only drawback is that BART is on its last leg in the North Bay. The system is 44 years old and the ridership has increased immensely. 100,000 more people ride BART than they did five years ago. This means BART carries about 440,000 passengers on an average weekday. People that ride BART daily are upset with BART because of the delays due to mechanical problems, over packed trains, price increases and run down stations. One line that is having major trouble is the Pittsburg-Bay Point and North Concord stations, it will be shut down intermittently  due to electrical surges on the tracks. It’s about time BART fixes the problem and stop putting a band aide on it. In November BART officials are planning to place a bond measure on the ballot for $3.5 billion to pay for fixing tracks, power systems, stations, other structures and the mechanical systems. Yes, people will be in an uproar because their taxes might get raised but they want it fixed.

I feel that all the people who ride BART should stop their whining and let Bart fix the whole system. I know it’s going to take some time but when it’s done think how smooth and easy your ride will be. One last thing, it’s better safe than sorry how about that!

LM

http://patch.com/california/sanleandro/bart-shut-down-fremont-line-repairs

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-shutdown-underscores-aging-system-s-6916061.php

BART Strikes Again! Commuters Are Angry!

The workers for BART failed again to come to an agreement with management. So they  went on strike again. Just a little over four months of there first strike in July. Most of the commuters  that take BART into San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley from the out lining areas are angry. I have a friend that takes BART from Oakland to Fremont and then takes the bus to Milpitas. She told me her commute today is horrible. She had to get up three hours earlier to catch the bus, 4 transfers later and still got to work late. I could see why commuters are angry. I think that the BART employees are being  unreasonable. They are fortunate they have a job. There are a lot of people who have been looking for a job for years. A Oakland man was arrested for throwing a traffic cone at a picketing BART striker. If BART employees don't come to an agreement then, it could get more violent.

LM

 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bart-strike-bay-area-commuters-20131018,0,6806533.story?track=rss

http://www.heraldstandard.com/united_states_ap/nd-sf-bay-area-transit-strike-in-months-begins/article_ce188580-7a49-50f8-8158-dce10fc9e74c.html

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/bart-unions-bypass-public-amid-photo-000700417.html

BART Union Strike Cripples San Francisco and Oakland Bay Area Commute

 

Bay Area Rapid Transit better known as BART went on strike on July 1, 2013 bringing the San Francisco and Oakland Bay Area to a crippling halt. A BART official reported that the union asked for 21% pay increase but were offer 8% over four and BART also offered to reduce the amount of employee contributions for pension and medical benefits. After days and long hours of negotiations SEIU Local 1021 did not get what they wanted and decided to strike. How greedy can some people be? SEIU Local 1021 in my opinion is greedy. Most of the country has not seen a raise in years or offered to contribute less to their pension and medical. Don’t get me wrong unions are good for keeping the employees work place safe for everyone. What about the people that depend on BART to get to work and school? If it weren’t for these 400,000 riders a week BART workers would not have a job. The traffic in the San Francisco and Oakland Bay Area is going to be a mad house. Be prepared don’t get discouraged hopefully this won’t go on for that long.

LM

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/01/us/california-bart-strike

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-strike-imminent-commute-chaos-ahead-4639593.php

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/bart-strike-triggers-morning-commute-chaos/nYZ3B/

Oakland’s People Mover is Under Construction

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Michael Ealey the CEO of Streetwise Special Delivery Courier Service, was in Oakland California making a pickup and delivery. He drove by the site where BART is constructing the People Mover. It will be a driverless train system. That would whisk passengers 3.2 miles from the Oakland Coliseum BART station, to the Oakland Airport in 14 ½ minutes. For 40 years BART’s board and regional transportation officials have longed to build this rail connection. There was never enough money. With the uncertain economy, regional transportation board was given a $70 million in federal stimulus to complete the funding package. The cost of riding the people mover from Oakland Coliseum Bart Station to the Oakland Airport will be between $4 and $6. Port of Oakland officials expect by 2020, 10,000 passengers will be riding the People Mover. I think the people mover is great for Oakland’s economy. With the construction of the People Mover 20 percent of local work force is back to work. This means construction worker that have been out of work, are now employed. Engineers and Maintenance people are going be hired to maintain the system. Oakland’s local economy is getting a much needed lift. Streetwise Special Delivery Courier Service makes pickups and deliveries to other cities in the Oakland area, Hayward, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville and Richmond.

LM

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/13/construction-of-bart-connector-to-oakland-airport-reaches-milestone/

Transbay Bart Station Shut down in Oakland & San Francisco Due To 3 Alarm Fire

Early Thursday morning June 14, 2012 around 2:15 a.m. a fire broke out, at an under-construction senior center in a framing stage. The fire was next to the West Oakland BART station between Fifth and Seventh streets. Battalion Chief Adrian Sheppard said, “The fire spread to include lampposts, cars, power poles, took down electrical wires and spread to the elevated BART tracks, potentially damaging the tracks and necessitating shutting down power to the tracks.” He also said that “No one was injured and no homes or occupied buildings were damaged in the blaze.” Bart official Jim Allison said “it is too early to tell how long the Transbay Tube may be closed, and whether it may be a matter of hours or even days.” He also said “that a preliminary examination of the tracks suggests there may not be any physical damage and that there is mainly an electrical problem, however that estimate may change.” Bart officials said West Oakland BART station is closed entirely and to find an alternate route. AC Transit official Clarence Johnson says they have not added any additional buses because they don’t have any. Transit officials have changed the bus routes to accommodate BART riders.

Wow! This is the worst time for a fire to break out and shut down the West Oakland Transbay Terminal to San Francisco. BART has thousands of people that commute on a daily basis. With the U.S. open going on in San Francisco the riders on BART have probably doubled. The traffic on highway 880 north bound trying to get into Oakland from Union City, Fremont and Hayward has been a nightmare. Streetwise Courier Service was supposed to pick up for their client today in Oakland and deliver to Fremont. It was canceled due to the traffic situation on 880 north bound. The traffic situation on 80 west bound coming from San Pablo and Richmond going into Berkeley and Emeryville is bad as well. People are panicky and causing accidents adding to the problem. It is a good thing no one was hurt in this fire. It may be a little inconvenient for a while. Slow down people it’s not that serious.

LM

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/3-alarm-oakland-fire-shuts-transbay-bart-service/