BART | 511 Contra Costa - Part 4

Tag: BART

Dump the Pump Day: June 18, 2015 – Free Rides & More

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Dump The Pump
June 18 is National Dump the Pump Day! It’s a great opportunity to change up your routine, ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save some money. A recent report from the American Public Transportation Association shows that a two-person household downsizing to one car can save, on average, more than $9,569 a year!
Saving money isn’t the only reason to try riding transit on Dump the Pump Day. This year Spare the Air, WestCAT, BART, Wheels (LAVTA) & SolTrans are all offering something extra to encourage you to ri5de the bus or train. We’ve compiled their tweets (showing what they’ve got going on for June 18) below.
And if Dump the Pump Day inspires you to take transit more often, you might qualify for the $25 Drive Less Commuter Incentive! Find out more on our Public Transit page.

Bike to Work Day 2015: Exciting Energizer Stations – Coffee, Giveaways & More

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Bike to Work Day is almost here! Whether you’re already committed to riding or need a tiny bit more motivation, we’ve got the lowdown on Energizer Stations that should not be missed!
Bike to Work Day logoAntioch
• Deer Valley Rd & Wellness Way (Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center) – 6:30-9:30 am: Giving away free bike bells!
Pleasant Hill
• Contra Costa Canal Trail at Gregory Lane – 7:30-8:45 am & 4-6 pm: Raffle to win a $25 gift certificate towards a fitness or dance class with Pleasant Hill Parks & Recreation.
• Pleasant Hill BART Station (near bike racks) – 6:30-9 am: Free bike tune-ups, Peet’s Coffee, bagels & schmear and other snacks.
San Ramon
• Iron Horse Trail at Bollinger Canyon Rd – 6-10 am: East Bay Regional Park District will be giving away free bike bells!
Walnut Creek
• Walnut Creek BART Station (near fare gates) – 6-9 am: Free bike-tune ups!
• Iron Horse Trail/Canal Trail Intersection Energizer Station – 6:30-9:30 am: Free Starbucks Coffee and bike bells!
• Iron Horse Trail/Canal Trail Intersection Energizer Station – 4-7 pm: Make your own slushy on a bike-blender! (weather permitting)

BART Seeking Rider Input on January 2016 Fare Increase

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BART carBART has announced a 3.4 percent regular fare increase, scheduled for January 1, 2016. The estimated $15 million in added annual revenue will fund BART’s highest priority capital needs including new rail cars, an automated train control system, and an expanded maintenance facility.
BART wants rider feedback and will be taking comments through April 28. You can send your input by email (fares@bart.gov), phone (510-464-6752), taking their online survey, or by fax or US mail. For more information, see the official BART press release.

Seniors: Free Clipper Cards & Transportation Options – April 28, 2015 in Livermore

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Senior Clipper CardSeniors and disabled persons in the Livermore area who are interested in transportation services or a free Senior Clipper Card, and instruction on how to use it, are invited to attend an event on Tuesday, April 28 in Livermore.
Free Senior Clipper Cards will be issued at the event, and attendees will receive instruction on how to use the cards on buses and trains. In addition, BART, Wheels bus (LAVTA) and Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL) will be present to explain discounts available with Senior Clipper Cards and give information on transportation services that exist for seniors and the disabled.
The event will be held on Tuesday, April 28 from 10am until noon in the Palo Verde Room at the Livermore Community Center, located at 4444 East Avenue in Livermore. If you cannot attend, you can get information on discounts and apply for a Senior Clipper Card at ClipperCard.com.

Transit Service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2015

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Some transit agencies will be operating on non-weekday schedules on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Monday, January 19. Here are the transit schedules which will be in effect:

  • County Connection: Regular weekday schedule
  • Capitol Corridor: Regular weekday schedule
  • BART: Saturday schedule
  • Wheels: Enhanced Saturday schedule; No service on Rapid
  • WestCAT: Express J, DAR, Local (11, 19) – Saturday schedule; LYNX – Limited Holiday service
  • AC Transit: Sunday schedule
  • Tri Delta Transit: Sunday schedule (only Route 392, 393, 394 and 395 in operation)

Christmas 2014: Holiday Transit Service Information

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On Christmas Day, all transit agencies serving Contra Costa County will be on Sunday or Holiday schedules. Modified service will be offered by some local transit agencies on the days before and after Christmas. Here are the holiday service changes for December 22-26th:
Christmas Eve

**All other transit agencies will offer regular weekday service on Christmas Eve (December 24)
Christmas Day

December 26th

  • Capitol Corridor: Holiday Schedule

**All other transit agencies will offer regular weekday service on December 26

FutureBART: The Game Where You Control the Destiny of BART (2014)

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BART is in the process of planning for the next 40 years of service and they need your input. Rather than ask you to take a survey, they’ve created a game to solicit your feedback. Introducing FutureBART – the game where you’re the BART planner.
In FutureBART, you choose the types of projects BART will pursue, selecting from three categories: Fix and Modernize BART, More Train and Station Capacity, and New Lines & Extensions. All the choices offered are actual projects BART is considering (e.g. a second Transbay Tube, fixing the backlog of repairs in the BART system).
Since projects can’t go ahead without funding, you also have to decide where the money will come from (e.g. bond measure, regional gas tax, higher bridge tolls). If you exceed your budget the game will tell you, leaving you to choose whether to add funding or select a different combination of projects.
The impact of your choices is displayed in a section called ‘Your Overall Benefits’, showing expected improvements in categories like Regional Economy, System Reliability, and Improved Cost-effectiveness. Want to see how a different combination of projects and funding would work? Just update your choices and you’ll see the changes to your ‘report card’ in real time.
The game takes less than 10 minutes to play and the feedback received will be used to develop the BART Vision Plan, which will help guide the BART Board of Directors and staff when making decisions about the future of BART.
To play the game, visit FutureBART.org.

Free BART Parking Coming to an End (2014)

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Concord BART StationBART has begun phasing out free parking at the few remaining stations where it exists. On Monday, October 27, paid parking ($1 per day) went into effect at the Concord BART station, with the North Concord, Coliseum/Oakland Airport and Hayward stations soon to follow.
According to BART officials, the move to paid parking is necessary to cover costs. The official estimate is that it costs an average of $1.33 per day to maintain, operate and police each parking space in the BART system.
The North Concord BART station will make the move to paid parking on November 12. BART plans to transition Oakland Coliseum BART on November 17 and Hayward BART on December 8.
Parking fees vary by station and can be paid by cash, Clipper Card or a BART Blue Ticket. It’s still free to park at all stations on weekdays after 3 p.m. and on weekends and holidays.

Get Around Walnut Creek for Free: Downtown Trolley & Route 5 Shuttle

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DTTrolleyHeader
Getting around Walnut Creek is free and easy when you use the Downtown Trolley and Route 5 Shuttle!

Free Downtown Trolley Route Map

The Downtown Trolley runs 7 days a week and makes a loop through Downtown. Stops include: the Broadway Plaza, Main Street Plaza, the Lesher Center for the Arts, City Hall and the Senior Center. (For a full list of stops, click on the image to the right.)
The Route 5 Shuttle runs between Walnut Creek BART and Creekside Drive (via S California Blvd and S Main St) every weekday. The first shuttle departs Walnut Creek BART at 5:48am and the final shuttle returns there at 6:58pm.
Both options are free of charge! Click either link to view a map and schedule information:

County Connection and BART Offer Free Passes for School Trips

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BART School Field Trip ProgramBoth BART and County Connection have announced the return of programs offering free passes for school trips.
Thanks to funding from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the ‘Free BART Rides for School Field Trips’ program is back and will offer 40,000 free trips for students, teachers and chaperones traveling with their schools to cultural and educational destinations. Bay Area schools in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties are eligible to apply and applications are currently being taken on a first-come, first-served basis through December 31st, 2014. Each school will have a limit of six free trips per year. Interested schools can find more information on the ‘Free BART Rides’ page and make a reservation using the program’s online form.
County Connection offers the ‘Class Pass Program’, designed to help familiarize students with public transportation. Teachers are invited to take students on free trips twice per school year using County Connection’s ?xed-route bus system—Monday through Friday, during off-peak hours. In addition to free passes, participating groups will be provided s a specially designed ‘Class Pass’ to use when boarding as well as a personalized trip plan with system maps and schedules. Full program details and an application form are available on the County Connection Class Pass page.

Share Your Ideas to Help Shape Contra Costa's Transportation (2014)

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The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is updating the Countywide Transportation Plan and they would like to hear your ideas on how to keep Contra Costa moving. CCTA is responsible for maintaining and improving Contra Costa’s transportation system by planning and funding key projects, like the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore, Highway 4 widening, and BART system extensions. The agency also helps maintain local streets, reduce traffic congestion, and make Contra Costa safe for bicyclists and pedestrians all in efforts to get you where you need to go.
ccta_keep_ccc_ moving copy
The CCTA in collaboration with Contra Costa municipalities and cities want to know what transportation issues you think are important so they can prioritize where to spend time and resources – BART? Buses? Highways? Local roads? Pedestrian paths? Bicycle routes? Do you have new ideas? You tell them. This is your chance to participate in setting the priorities for our transportation system and suggest your own bright ideas for new projects and programs in Contra Costa. There are many ways you can provide your input:
Attend a public workshop to hear more about the CTP.  Here’s a list of the upcoming workshops:

    • Southwest County Public Workshop: Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 7pm, Veteran’s Memorial Building, 3780 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette
    • West County Public Workshop: Saturday, September 20, 2014, 1:30pm, Richmond Convention Center, Bermuda Room (enter from Nevin St.) 403 Civic  Center Plaza, Richmond
    • West County Public Workshop: Monday, September 22, 2014, 7pm, Hercules Community Center (Gym), 2001 Refugio Valley Road, Hercules
    • Telephone Public Workshop: Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 6pm, Dial 877-229-8493 and pin# 1126642 when promptedP
    • Past event: Central County Public Workshop:  Wednesday, August 27, 2014, 7pm, Assembly Hall at Civic Park Community Center, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Cree
    • Past event: East County Public Workshop: Thursday, August 28, 2014, 7pm, City Council Chambers, Pittsburg Civic Center, 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg
  2. Participate in CCTA’s online survey at www.KeepContraCostaMoving.net, to share your priorities, your bright ideas, and see what other ideas have been submitted.
  3. Call 925-256-4720 or email 2014CTP@ccta.net to have a copy of CCTA’s survey mailed to you.

Your opinions and ideas will help shape Contra Costa County’s transportation planning for the next 25 years.  Don’t miss this opportunity!
CTP Frequently Asked Questions
English and Spanish Flyer On How To Participate

Vintage 1976 BART Map

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BART. The world’s most sophisticated rapid transit? Bay Area map maker and enthusiast Eric Fischer recently uploaded this 1976 BART brochure touting how its 2,000 employees care about its passengers.

Over, Under, and Around San Francisco (1976)
(Click to enlarge)

The brochure text is reads:

“BART invites you to join us on the  world’s most sophisticated rapid transit. BART is a space age transit system with over 2,000 people who care about you and it’s the most convenient way to get over, around, and under the Bay Area in minutes.”

The brochure goes on to describe how to access BART and the cost of parking at BART stations (which was free with the exception of the Lake Merritt Station, which would set you back 25 cents per day). Another interesting detail that emerges is in the text the portion about bikes on BART. While all bike restrictions have now been lifted, when the system opened you needed a temporary permit from a station agent to bring your bike on-board during certain hours.

Be sure to check out some of our other posts highlighting the early days of BART, plans that never happened, and what lies ahead.

(For all BART related posts, click on our “BART” tag.)

BART to Oakland Airport Connector Test Train Unveiled (2014)

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BART officials today excitedly unveiled a test train for the 3.2-mile elevated tramway connector from the Oakland Coliseum station to the Oakland airport that’s scheduled to begin service in the fall. The Oakland airport connector train will enhance access to the airport using BART.
BART officials said the fares are expected to be roughly equivalent to the current $3 AirBART buses.   The connector, which will travel at about 30 mph, will run above Hegenberger Road and replace the current AirBART buses, which drive through nine intersections on local streets. The tramway travel time between the Coliseum BART station and the Airport will take approximately 9 minutes and depart every 4 minutes.  Compared to the current 20-25 minute AirBART bus trip, that’s quite a time-savings.  “There will be a guarantee of the time that will be involved,” BART General Manager Grace Crunican said.
Four three-car trains will operate on the connector, with each train able to carry up to 150 passengers. Tom Dunscombe, the project manager for the connector, said the trains will be light and “elegant” because they won’t have motors, as the motors are in the wheelhouse. Dunscombe said the connector will be “really reliable,” with a projected on-time performance of 99.5 percent, because there will be redundant motors and gearboxes. He said if the trains become crowded, BART will have the option of adding a fourth car to the trains in the future. Full story.

BART Fares to go up January 1, 2014

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Clipper CardBART fares will increase by 60 cents for the longest trip and 25 cents for shorter trips on January  1, 2014. The fare hike is part of the BART’S regularly scheduled inflation-based increase program established in 2003.
The agency’s nine-member elected board has earmarked the estimated $325 million in additional fare proceeds through 2020 to pay for new rail cars, improvements at its Hayward maintenance yard and a new train control system.
For full details, see the updated fare chart.

BART service during Labor Day Weekend 2013 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Closure

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Bay Bridge
BART will run around the clock during the Bay Bridge Closure scheduled for this Labor Day Weekend. The Bay Bridge will be closed to take the original East Span out of service and to open the new East Span to traffic. Here’s what’s you need to know.
Wednesday, August 28
8 PM: Bay Bridge closes to all traffic in both directions. Read more about the closure at http://baybridgeinfo.org/
Thursday, August 29 – Monday, September 2
BART will run 24 hours a day with limited service at the following 14 stations and with transfers only at MacArthur Station:
East Bay

  • 12th St./Oakland City Center
  • Bay Fair
  • Coliseum/Oakland Airport
  • Concord
  • Downtown Berkeley
  • Dublin/Pleasanton
  • El Cerrito del Norte
  • MacArthur (T)
  • Walnut Creek

San Francisco

  • 24th St. Mission
  • Daly City
  • Embarcadero
  • Powell St.
  • San Francisco International Airport

bart-bay-bridge-closure-service-map
Download BART’s detailed schedule to see exact times for each station.
Note: Trains will not run overnight Monday into Tuesday so BART may carry out required maintenance work and inspections. 
On Monday, Labor Day, September 2, BART will run trains on a Saturday schedule.
Tuesday, September 3
5 AM: Bay Bridge reopens. Following the safe rerouting of traffic to the new East Span, the original East Span will be demolished, a process will take approximately three years.

For more information, visit bart.gov.

Governor Brown intervenes BART Strike (2013)

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Macarthur BART station
After a weekend of negotiations between BART and its unions, Governor Jerry Brown answered BART’s request for a cooling off period to ensure service without disruption this week.
The letter from BART President Tom Radulovich’s to the Governor reads:

[A cooling off period would] allow us to continue negotiating while assuring the public that it will have transit service tomorrow and for another 60 days as we continue to bargain.

From the office of the Governor:

At the request of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, I am appointing a board to investigate the threatened strike that would disrupt public transportation services in the Bay Area. … The board is directed to provide me with a written report within the next seven days.

BART unions give 72-hour strike notice (2013)

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Late Thursday evening, BART spokesman Rick Rice issued the following statement on labor negotiations:

Union leadership has given the District a 72-hour strike notice. We are very disappointed and hope they reconsider their options.  A strike only stalls and delays the decisions that need to be made while using our riders as pawns.
BART is willing to stay at the table for as long as it takes to reach an agreement.  Even if there isn’t a deal in place by Sunday night, talks can be extended.

Read about your commute alternatives available to and from the East Bay to Oakland and San Francisco.
Sign up to receive the latest strike alerts.

BART Strike Ends but Negotiations Continue (2013)

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bart-subway-stn
Late Thursday night, BART announced that trains will resume service on Friday, July 5th at 3 PM, bringing an end to the BART Strike that crippled Bay Area transportation all of this week.
This occurred shortly after the agency announced there would be no BART service on Friday, July 5th.
The charter bus service offered by BART between the East Bay and San Francisco will operate as scheduled, beginning at 5 AM on Friday, July  5th.
The debate is far from resolved, but for the next 30 days, BART and its unions will continue to work together to bridge the gap.
BART General Manager Grace Crunican:

That focus is why we stand together tonight to announce that we will continue working to reach an agreement during the next 30 days while the trains continue to run. It is my resolve to bargain in good faith and to keep the trains running.
The BART bargaining teams on both sides of the table have worked tirelessly to bargain a new contract under difficult circumstances. Their work is appreciated. Most importantly for me, I want to welcome back all the BART employees who have been on strike during the past week.
Now let’s get the trains moving.

Read the full announcement on BART.gov.

BART Strike Continues for 4th Day – BART offers charter bus service (2103)

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BART union workers continue to strike for a fourth day as talks continue.

BART logo

From bart.gov:

Should ongoing labor negotiations yield a settlement at any time, it will still take approximately 18 hours to resume BART train service.

As of last night, no settlement had been reached between BART and labor unions ATU and SEIU. On July 2, BART and AFCSME reached a tentative settlement. Labor talks will resume today.
To  assist those who have to work on the Independence Day holiday, BART has planned a limited Fourth of July charter bus service between the East Bay and San Francisco.
The morning service is first come, first served.
3 buses will be available starting at 6 am at each of the following BART stations:

  • El Cerrito del Norte
  • Walnut Creek
  • Dublin/Pleasanton
  • Fremont
  • West Oakland

Once a bus is filled it will leave for San Francisco. Each bus carries 50 passengers.
The service will only last until all three buses are filled or 8 AM, whichever comes first.
The trip home will be a direct ride to each of the 5 stations with 3 buses serving each destination from 4-6pm. The last bus to each station will leave at 6pm so riders need to arrive before then.
If the strike continues through Friday, July 5th, BART has promised additional shuttles.

Friday’s service will be similar but each station will have 7 buses show up at 5am and it will be first come first served. The service will only last until all seven buses are filled or 8am, whichever comes first. The return trip home will be from 3pm-7pm. The last bus to each station will leave at 7pm so riders need to arrive before then.

BART Says Passengers can now show up at West Oakland for a free round trip ticket to SF (2013)

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Last night BART announced it was able to get its hands on more buses to serve the West Oakland Station and their bus bridge to San Francisco.
Commuters can show up at West Oakland, park for free, and get a free round trip ticket to San Francisco.
BART now has 36 charter buses serving the West Oakland-Downtown San Francisco bus bridge, compared to 18 yesterday. The hours for the West Oakland bus bridge in the morning are 5 AM – 9 AM. The return home from a stop near the Transbay Terminal will be from 3 PM – 7 PM.
BART will continue to serve the following 4 stations from 5 AM – 8 AM and then return from a stop near the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco from 3 PM – 7 PM:

  • El Cerrito del Norte
  • Walnut Creek
  • Dublin/Pleasanton
  • Fremont station

Complete details about the busses and commute options can be found on bart.gov.
Commuters are still advised to work from home if possible and carpool as these busses provide very limited service compared to what BART usually serves. 511.org also continues to be a vital resource for commuters.
Also check out: Getting around the Bay Area during the BART strike