Uncategorized | 511 Contra Costa - Part 5

Category: Uncategorized

Is a Plane More Fuel Efficient Than a Prius?

Posted on

trans0209gettingaroundrevGOOD Magazine recently did a pretty cool piece examining the fuel usage per person for various modes of transportation from bicycles to cruise ships.  It is definitely worth a look.

“What’s the most efficient way to get around? Planes might burn a lot of fuel, but they also are filled with people, making each gallon go a lot farther. How does that stack up against trains, buses, cars, or the gasoline equivalent of eating a burger and hopping on your bike? The answer may surprise you.”

You can read more on good.is.

Don't Get Struck by the Strike: Check Out Your Many BART Alternatives

Posted on

Carpool
Carpool…Casually by pulling up to a curb and picking someone up at a casual carpool location. Unless otherwise arranged all carpools from the East Bay drop passengers at Fremont and Howard streets–or nearby–in downtown San Francisco.  Check out our extensive list of casual carpool locations.
Vanpool
Find a vanpool to join at www.511.org. Once you do, sign up for the 511 Contra Costa vanpool incentive providing 50% off for three consecutive months.
Take the Bus
Since you will probably only be able to drive as fast as the local bus, give it a try. County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, or WestCAT.
Take the Ferry
May want to take a reverse commute to access the Vallejo Ferry with service to San Francisco.
Telework
Work from home perhaps just one day a week. Write your reports, read your mail or reports – doesn’t have to required heavy computer connections.
Flex Your Schedule
Come in early or late – avoid the peak commute hours. Work 4 10-hour days and avoid commuting altogether one day a week.
Take the BART Express Bus From Walnut Creek Bart to Downtown San Francisco
Details are being worked out. Visit www.bart.gov for more updated info.
Muni has added Casual Carpooling departure points between 3 and 7 p.m. M-F in downtown SF.
Take the Lynx Express Bus From Hercules to Downtown San Francisco
WestCAT is providing service from the Hercules Transit Center.
Bike
Now is a fine time to ride your bike if you work and live in Contra Costa. Need help planning your route? Give us a call at 925-969-1083.
Need fuel for your ride?  Have some coffee on us!

BART Strike Carpooling Tips (2009)

Posted on

Share the Ride!
Carpool…Casually by pulling up to a curb and picking someone up at a casual carpool location. Unless otherwise arranged all carpools from the East Bay drop passengers at Fremont and Howard streets–or nearby–in downtown San Francisco.
Where to Go
Albany–Pierce St. south of Central Ave. Across the street from the Pacific Far East shopping mall.
Berkeley–North Berkeley BART. On Sacramento, east of the entrance to the BART station. Rides to Civic Center as well as Downtown San Francisco: Drivers/riders going to Civic Center meet south of the newspaper racks. Downtown-bound cars pull up to, but not past, the newspaper racks.
El Cerrito–Del Norte BART. On Eastshore, just south of Orchard Supply Hardware. Do not park in the Orchard parking lot. You will be ticketed/towed.
Emeryville Christie & 64th–in front of 6363 Christie. See the discussion board for more info.
Emeryville Marina–Powell St. between Admiral and Commodore.
Hercules–Park and Ride. Off Highway 4 near I-80 south of the Highway 4/I-80. Caution: the lot has a new $3 daily parking fee. Lafayette BART. North of the station, just outside and to the right of the parking lot.
Moraga–Moraga Way. North side of Moraga Way, west of School Street.
Orinda BART–In the alley on the north side of Theater Square.
Piedmont–Oakland and Hillside. On Oakland Ave, just east of Hillside.
Richmond–Richmond Parkway Park and Ride. Richmond Parkway just west of I-80. Parking costs $3.00 per day. You may be towed if you park in the adjacent shopping center lot!
Vallejo–Park and Ride. In the lot, just west of 80 at Curtola Parkway and Lemon.
San Francisco–On Beale between Howard and Folsom.
Carpool…Formally by finding a co-worker, someone in your office building, or on-line at 511.org.

Tri Delta Transit July Special Promotion

Posted on

top_06_22_aTri Delta Transit and 511 Contra Costa have teamed up to get people moving more eco-friendly in east Contra Costa County. Give Express Route 300 a try and let someone else do the driving for you through Highway 4 traffic to/from Pittsburg/Bay Point BART.  With limited stops between Brentwood and Oakley and free parking at local park and ride lots it’s worth a try. Get a free $20 BART ticket AND a free $32 express Route 300 bus pass when you purchase a one Route 300 pass.
top_06_22_bRide a luxury motor coach bus with free WiFi service to Lawrence Livermore/Sandia Lab or to Hacienda Business Park and Dublin/Pleasanton BART on the Delta Express. Purchase one Delta Express monthly pass and get another month free.
These special offers are available for a limited time through July 31, 2009.

Find A Carpool Partner Now to Avoid BART Strike Woes

Posted on

BART may go on strike July 1, 2009. Don’t wait until then to figure out how to get to work.  Talk to co-workers  or others in your building NOW to arrange  a carpool and then sign up with us to receive a $60 gift card.  You might  also consider vanpooling.  Look for vans with empty seats. If you are able to join a van, sign up to receive 50%  discount on your vanpool costs  from 511 Contra Costa. Be sure to enroll in our Guaranteed Ride Home Program.   It’s our way of encouraging carpooling instead of  driving alone to work.   If you would like to find a carpool or vanpool partner using the Regional Rideshare data base visit http://rideshare.511.org.

Safety in Numbers: As More Cyclists Take to the Road Riding Gets Safer

Posted on

cali-coastThe future of bike commuting continues to look better and better.  As bike commuting and biking in general continue to get better and safer due to more bike infrastructure and more cyclists taking to the streets even more people will be prompted to give bike commuting a try.
It will be exciting to watch for an increase in bike commuters in Contra Costa County as new bike projects like the Benicia bridge renovation (with bike lane) are completed.
Take a look at bicycle ridership and casualties in New York City over the past ten years, more cyclists and better infrastructure makes everyone safer.

Bikewise: Report and Learn About Bicycle Crashes, Hazzards and Thefts

Posted on

screenshot-bikewise-mozilla-firefox
Cascade Bicycle Club, a Seattle based organization has launched a new on-line collaborative mapping tool which allows users to report and learn about bicycle crashes, hazards and thefts.   While bikewise still has no data points in Contra Costa County, with enough user participation it could become an extremely useful tool.
What Bikewise has to say about itself:

bikewise is run by Cascade Bicycle Club, in partnership with sustainability activist and software developer Phil Mitchell.  “We’re based in Seattle, Washington, but this site is meant to be useful anywhere in the world. We started bikewise in the conviction that we could make biking safer and more fun by gathering good data on the things that sometimes go wrong.”
Crashes: “It’s estimated that 75% or more of all crashes go unreported. We believe that by gathering detailed information on how and why crashes happen, we’ll be able to ride smarter. Also, we hope that knowing where crash hotspots are will help us to identify issues with traffic behavior and road design.”
Hazards: How many times have you ridden past a dangerous sewer grate or overgrown vegetation and wished there were someplace to report it? Now there is. “We aim to not only collect hazard reports, but to pass these on to the appropriate authorities. (Please note: we’re still putting this part of the system in place.)” 
Thefts: Tracking where and how bikes get stolen is a key part of making preventing thefts. “We’re currently working on other pieces of this system, so that if your bike does get stolen, you have a better chance of getting it back. More to come on that.”

Lane Closures in Lafayette

Posted on

East Bay Municipal Utility District will be conducting pipeline work in the vicinity of Pleasant Hill Road near Acalanes High School. In order to conduct the work, single lane closures will be expected on southbound Pleasant Hill Rd from Springhill Rd to Acalanes Rd beginning June 15th, 2009.  Work hours are from 9:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  M-F.  Occasional and intermittent lane closures can be expected in the northbound direction to allow for staging of equipment.  Delays are expected; use of alternate route is suggested.  It is hoped that the work can be completed during the summer months before the fall school term begins in August 2009.

Largest Rider Survey in BART's History

Posted on

Image by David via Flickr
Image by David via Flickr

Here’s your chance to pore over the newest data on BART ridership.  This survey is the largest ever done by BART (polling more than 50,000 riders!) and the first since 1998.  The data was collected between April 2 and May 8, 2008.
BART uses the data collected in these surveys to plan for the future.
You can download BART’s Station Profile Study, as well as some cool maps detailing travel patterns here.
Check out BART’s website for more info.

Bicycling is only healthy when you ride safely

Posted on

via: Welcome to the Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

It’s clear that bicycling is good for the environment…when it takes vehicles off the road. It’s also clear that bicycling is good for your health…when you practice safety.
May is National Bike Safety Month. As this Administration works to develop environmentally-sound transportation options, making our streets more bike-friendly is high on the list. Our roads and communities must be built to allow people to get around safely outside of their cars, on bike or on foot.
But, as more people take to bicycling, that idea can only be sound when drivers and cyclists help each other share the roads safely.
Bike-commuter-1
Motorists should:

  • Recognize that bicyclists have a right to ride on the roadway;
  • Stay alert and keep distractions to a minimum;
  • Make a complete visual check for bicyclists before entering or leaving a lane of traffic.

But, bicyclists have an obligation as well. They should:

  • Ride on the roadway, rather than on sidewalks;
  • Follow the same rules of the road as other vehicles;
  • Wear a bicycle helmet every time you ride;
  • Make yourself visible, day and night.

Please take the time to visit the content-rich Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and the National Center for Safe Routes to School. Best practices for bicycle safety can also be found on the League of American Bicyclists and Bicycle Safe sites. The International Bicycle Fund has a great list of bike safety resources.
We all know about “defensive driving.” But, bicyclists are vulnerable and exposed in a way that motorists simply are not. While we are working to improve conditions for bicyclists on the roadways, let’s, please, remember the culture we’ve created over the last 100 years will not welcome bikes overnight. In the meantime, during National Bike Safety Month and throughout the year, I urge you to “bike defensively.”

Global Climate Plans Event

Posted on

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Gas and Electric are hosting a forum on Climate Plans.
Global Climate Plans:
What does this mean?
What is your city doing to comply?
How will it effect your city, your business and you?
Cliff Rechtschaffen, Special Assistant to the CA Attorney General on Climte Change will be the Keynote Speaker.  Additional topics will include panels on regiona l plans and area issues.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Lone Tree Golf and Event Center, Antioch CA
Reservations required. $50 for the forum and $100 for trade show tables.