transit | 511 Contra Costa - Part 5

Tag: transit

All Aboard Muni's New All-Door Boarding Policy

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San Francisco Muni Bus
Boarding Muni. Photo credit: www.bluewaikiki.com

Only a couple months into Muni’s new all-door boarding policy and already the system seems to be working well.
As reported on San Francisco Streetsblog:

On five Muni lines, the time buses spent at stops dropped by as much as 16 percent in July compared to June, according to a presentation prepared for the SFMTA Board’s Policy and Governance Committee meeting this week. The most drastic change in “dwell times” were reported on the 1-California line and its rush-hour express companion, the 1AX, which saw decreases of 14 and 16 percent, respectively. The 1AX also saw by far the largest shift in passengers using the back door instead of the front door, with a 1,200 percent increase

The article goes on to note improved conditions on other lines reviewed:

The 49-Van Ness, the14-Mission, and the 38-Geary — saw more modest drops in dwell time. The 49, at the low end of the spectrum, only saw a decrease of roughly 1 percent. One possible explanation is that back-door boarding was already common on those lines before the policy change, compared to the 1-California.

Transit and Trails

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The Bay Area is home of great urban spaces and public transit options. However, sometimes we get stuck in our urban surroundings without appreciating the wonderful park spaces and outdoor recreational opportunities the Bay Area has to offer. This may however soon easily change now with the helpful website Transit and Trails.
In the words of Co-Founder Ryan Branciforte, Transit and Trails is “a website and mobile application to find, plan, and share outdoor activities using existing public transportation”. The concept flips our conventional idea of public transit as a utilitarian tool, demonstrating that while convent for commuting to cities, transit is also a great way to reach outdoor recreational activities in the Bay Area’s great natural landscapes.
Watch the below video to learn more about Transit and Trails and be sure to check out their site too.

New Commuter Incentive Program

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a perfectly squared vision of the embarcadero
Market Street, San Francisco. Photo credit: torbakhopper

Head’s up!
511CC has a new commuter incentive program page! Learn how you can partake in the Drive Less Commuter Incentive Program and get a cash reward for switching from commuting in a single-occupant motor vehicle to carpooling, transit, bicycling or walking.
Driving less really can help reduce environmental impacts and relieve traffic congestion for all, even if you only ditch the car once a week for your work commute. So if you need an incentive to join the growing number of people saying good-bye to gridlock and leaving the car at home when commuting, be sure to check out the commuter incentive program.
And who knows, it might permanently change your commuting habits once you realize the many things you can get done – like catching up on reading, get exercise, or check email – when not driving. You might even decide to ditch the car for shorter trips too!

Citizens of Los Angeles Set the Example for ThrivingTransit

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Expo Line Phase I Opening: First car through the banner
L.A.’s new light rail, “Expo Line”, opened earlier this summer to a warm welcome! Photo credit: Metro Transportation Library and Archives 
Los Angeles is moving forward when it comes to their local transit system. Backed by Measure R, a 2008 half-cent sales tax that is expected to generate $40 billion for transportation, Los Angeles is constantly improving and expanding its transit system.
Expo Line
L.A.’s newest rail line connects to the University of Southern California. Photo credit: Waltarrrrr
The reason behind its success? Public support. People in the Los Angeles area are willing to put their dollars to improving the transit system. Tom Wright, executive director of the Regional Plan Association, says the L.A. Transit Agency does a great job with public outreach, as well. Wright claims, “What they’ve done is they’ve gone community to community and they’ve been really clear, this is what we will do with the funding.” And the results speak for themselves. In April of 2011, about a dozen rail lines for public transit in L.A. were funded, and were either under construction or being planned. Perhaps motivation comes from the highly congested traffic surrounding L.A., but regardless the locally enforced taxes are having a great impact on the public transportation of L.A.
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The Orange Line has been one of L.A.’s most successful Bus Rapid Transit lines. Photo credit: Metro Transportation Library and Archives 
Real estate developers and places of interest, like the Los Angeles County Museum, also benefit from the expansion of transit. More people are now able to use transit in order to get to the places they want to go to. Instead of driving, people looking to get around the city can now hop on a transit line, improving the efficiency of their trip. Read more about L.A.’s success in this Capital New York article “What New York City can learn from Los Angeles About the Transit Biz”. This blog post was written by Luther Kuefner, 511CC’s high school intern.

Paris Tests Bus Stop of the Future

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Bus stop in Houston 1956
Boarding the bus in 1956. Photo credit: Stockholm Transportation Museum Commons
Transit technology seems to be constantly improving, from Clippers Cards to zero emission buses, the experience of taking public transit is improving in many respects. However, one element that could undoubtedly be improved is the time one spends waiting for a bus to arrive.
While solar-powered wifi busies some bus riders at select San Francisco bus stops, Paris takes waiting for a bus to a higher level with a pilot program described as “the bus stop of the future“.
Treehugger recently covered Paris’ venture into better bus stops as

“…a variety of services, from a book lending library and an electric-bike rental station to phone charging outlets, free WiFi, and a snack and coffee kiosk.”

But that’s not all! Bus stops would also feature

“Bar-style tables built around existing trees [to] encourage socializing while [providing] extensive and interactive sources of neighborhood information [to] help idle passengers plan out the rest of their journey. “

Pretty impressive. Read more about Paris’ efforts at Treehugger.

Great Race for Clean Air 2012

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It’s back!
The Great Race for Clean Air is a friendly competition between Bay Area companies to encourage the use of commute alternatives such as transit, carpooling, vanpooling, walking and bicycling rather than driving alone to work to reduce greenhouse gases and smog levels in the Bay Area. Last year, 190 companies throughout the Bay Area saved 435 tons of CO2 by using commute alternatives.
Register your company to get started by August 31, 2012. Winning employers will be presented with trophies at a local Board of Supervisors meeting. Every participating employer will receive a certificate for participating. Take a look on how to sign up.

Your employees and co-workers can record their commutes online from September 1 to October 31, 2012. There will be weekly prize drawings for participants who record their commute. See how to log in your commute below.

Let the competition begin! Have fun and good luck!

Bay Area Fantasy Transit Maps

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Smart phones are of great help when taking transit, offering specific transit apps, gps, internet access… However, despite the seemingly ubiquity and practicality of smart phones for such trips it is difficult to replace the accessibility and simplicity of well-designed transit maps. Recently The Atlantic Cities took a look a couple of ‘fantasy transit maps‘ created by Brian Stokle that show “how a single, unified transit map might provide greater accessibility and ease of use” with hopes to “stimulate conversation about how transit decisions are made”.
Stokle used five criteria in determining how to create his easy to read, unified maps of Bay Area transit, including:

Focus on the customer’s needs, especially those who are new to transit (new commuters, tourists, visitors, etc.) and for locals unfamiliar with how to get to a certain part of the Bay Area.

and

Show only frequent, fast, and reliable transit, principally rail transit. Rapid bus routes were also included because they are fast and frequent as well. Some other transit was shown for reference (e.g. peak period commuter rail, trunk bus lines where no rapid transit exists) but showing every bus line would have been too confusing and unhelpful.

See below Stokle’s map of all current, and under construction projects that meet his criteria.
SPUR Regional Transit Map Current
Credit: Brian Stokle
The article is an interesting read, contemplating how to strike the most user-friendly balance between schematic and geographic mapping and proceeding to share what a unified transit map of all existing, planned (but may lack commitment, funding) and some additional suggested lines that meet Stokle’s five criteria may look like. Hop over to The Atlantic Cities and give the article a read.
 

Updated Help For Senior Transportation Map

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511 Contra Costa has an updated Help for Senior Transportation map. The interactive map shows all available public transit services for the elderly and those in need of assistance. Just click on the red marker on the map to find contact information for the transit service offered in that area.

Go to the Seniors page to learn more about senior mobility and interact with the updated map.

Do you know additional services that aren’t listed in the link above? Let us know at trips@511contracosta.org

New Limits on Commute Benefits in 2012

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Heads up! The IRS Transportation (Commuting) Benefits are set to roll back to pre-2009 levels of $125 per month (adjusted for inflation) for public transit passes and vanpool expenses beginning January 1, 2012. The maximum was temporarily raised to $230 per month under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and extended under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 to equal the monthly qualified commuter parking limit.
Qualified commuter parking expenses will increase up to $240 per month and qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements will remain unchanged at $20 per month in the new year.
By offering pre-tax commute benefits to employees, employers can save on paying FICA payroll taxes  and employees can take advantage of saving on federal withholding and FICA taxes on the amount deducted. Find out more from these third-party commute benefit administrators: Benefit Resource Inc., Clipper Direct, Edenred USA (Commuter Check), TranBen, TransitCenter (TransitChek), and WageWorks.
Image credit: 401K (Flickr)

Breaking down the costs of driving vs. transit

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Dec 2011. Can it actually save you money to take transit? Obviously that depends on a lot of things, and varies by person, but a lot of research finds that yes, on some trips, transit is the cheaper option. What can you do to reap some of these rewards?
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates that in 2005, the average annual cost of owning and operating a car driven 15,000 miles a year was about $7,800, or 52 cents a mile. Compare that to the median, after-tax, household income, which was under $40,000 per year. The BTS suggests that for a two-car household, about 40 percent of disposable income is spent on car travel.
At 52 cents a mile, the out-of-pocket expense for a 20-mile, round trip commute is $10.40 – assuming free parking at home and work, and no tolls. This works out to about $230 per month. Owning and insuring a car makes up 71% of the costs, the remaining costs (fuel and maintenance) vary. So if you’re considering carsharing, you have the potential to save a lot of money.  But if you just can’t get rid of your car but want to scale back the use of it, transit may be a cost-effective hybrid commute alternative.
Let’s pick an example: Walnut Creek to San Francisco.
By BART, this trip costs $4.75 each way. You might need to pay $1 for parking. Two trips and parking total $10.50.
To drive that 26 miles, pay the toll, and park (about $8 a day), someone driving alone during rush hour would end up paying $14 each day in tolls and parking alone. If you add in fuel and maintenance the real cost of the trip is $22.
And BART doesn’t even offer monthly or weekly passes. Check out these deals in Contra Costa County.

  • Unlimited rides on the County Connection cost only $60 a month.
  • A monthly local pass on AC Transit is $80, and a monthly Transbay+Local pass is $151.
  • The East Bay Value Pass offers unlimited rides on WestCat Lynx, County Connection, and Tri Delta Transit’s fixed routes for $60 a month.

Have you done the math for your household commute costs? Try this transit savings calculator from the American Public Transportation Association: Continue reading “Breaking down the costs of driving vs. transit”

What do you like to do on transit? Take this brief survey for a chance to win cash prizes!

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What do YOU like to do on transit?

What?

The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis is conducting a study on “travel multi-tasking,” or doing other activities while traveling. Whether you work or sit back and do nothing, we want your opinions! Click here to take the survey, or read below for more information.

Who can participate?

Anyone who commutes and is 18 or older.

Prizes

Everyone who returns a completed survey will be entered into a drawing for cash prizes of $300, $200, $100, and eight $25 restaurant gift cards.

How long will the survey take?

The survey should take about 35 minutes to complete.

Why?

The information you give us can help policymakers and transportation providers develop services that are more responsive to your needs and desires.

Deadline

Please complete the survey by November 30, 2011.

Results

Reports will be posted at http://pubs.its.ucdavis.edu/ as they become available.

Take the survey:

  1. Online: http://contra.questionpro.com
  2. You may request a paper version of the survey by calling (toll-free) 1-888-765-1124 or sending an e-mail, with “Paper survey request” as the subject, to Amanda Neufeld at ajneufeld@ucdavis.edu.

Contact

If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact Prof. Patricia Mokhtarian at plmokhtarian@ucdavis.edu, or Ms. Amanda Neufeld at 1-888-765-1124 or ajneufeld@ucdavis.edu.
Photo by neiltron

Do you prefer buses or trains?

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What’s your preferred  mode of public mass transportation? The bus or the train?
There are plenty of reasons to like trains. Trains run on the same fixed route  with predictable stops and if the tracks are separated from the street, they don’t have conflicts street traffic.
Usually when you are waiting for a train, you are at least waiting in a station that’s usually lighted, had places to sit, and has shelter.
Buses are a great mode too. In most places, they’re less expensive than trains.
Buses have more stops than trains and can get you closer to your final destination and have the capability to address the last-mile transportation link.
Buses also have drivers. If you’re new to an area or need help, the driver can usually answer a few questions as you board or exit the bus.
One notable difference is that buses operate above ground so you see the neighborhoods, people, buildings, and street life as you’re driven to your destination.  So, do you prefer people watching over dark tunnels?
Do you prefer buses or trains? Why?

Ask 511CC!

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Here on 511CC, we’ve assembled the finest collection of bike mappers, smog alerts, driving tools, and other resources to get you out from behind the wheel and enjoying beautiful Contra Costa County.
Our goal is to have all of the answers, but sometimes, we need you to ask the questions. So ask us!
Today is 511CC’s first weekly Transportation Q&A Day. We invite you, our readers – the people out there walking, riding, driving, and living in Contra Costa County – to rake your brain for those transportation questions that nag you and send them to us.

  • How to use the system – routes, stops, stations, and fares
  • Why our transportation works the way it does
  • You name it!

If we can’t answer your question immediately, we’ll do a bit of sleuthing to find the answer. We’ll post the results back here on the 511CC blog for everyone to see.
Leave your question in the comments, Facebook, or tweet it at us.  What Qs do you want to A?

511CC staff tests out new BART seats at Pleasant Hill

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511CC staff testing out possible new BART seats at the Pleasant Hill BART Station on Tuesday

On Tuesday, we tested out BART’s new seats at the Pleasant Hill station. What do you think of the new seats?

  • Upholstered or not?
  • Plastic or stainless steel?
  • Broader seats or more standing room?
  • Should bikes be in a designated car?
  • Pictograms or automated station arrival announcements?

Not able to make it to a lab to test the seats? You can still provide feedback to BART on the subject.
Related posts:

Happy "Dump the Pump" Day!

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Tomorrow is National Dump the Pump Day. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) started this holiday six years ago as an opportunity to remind people that, often, the easiest way to save money is by leaving your car parked and taking transit.
Transit is a cheaper way to get to work, home, and recreational options than driving.
When we do drive, we benefit from our friends and neighbors leaving their cars at home – APTA estimates that in 2009, public transit use saved 785 million hours of travel time for drivers.
Want to find a way to celebrate Dump the Pump Day? (Other than taking the bus, of course).
Tomorrow, WestCAT, the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority, will pick one winner to receive a $20 value pass or a $20 Starbucks gift card. Email your name and contact info to WestCAT before the end of the day on Thursday, June 16 to enter. The winner will be announced Friday.
Not familiar with WestCAT? Explore the system below. It’s never too early to start getting ready for Dump the Pump Day 2012.

Looking for more reasons to love transit? From APTA:

  • In 2010, Americans took 10.2 billion trips on public transportation.
  • People board public transportation 35 million times each weekday.
  • There are 7,200 public transportation organizations in the US, employing 400,000 people.
  • Every $1 invested in public transportation generates $4 in economic returns.
  • Public transportation reduces US oil consumption by 4.2 billion gallons each year.
  • Public transportation reduces the US carbon footprint by 37 million metric tons each year. This is equivalent to the household emissions of every person in Washington, D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles combined.
  • Money spent on transit projects creates 20 percent more jobs than highway projects.

Where is BART?

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One cool thing about knowing BART arrival times (other than how long you have to wait until the next train), is seeing those trains move along the system in real time.

Meet WhereISBART.com.
Have you ever wondered how many trains were in the BART system at a given time?
Or, how far away is that next train, really?
Or, if my friends boarded BART at another station a few minutes ago, will I meet them on this train that’s arriving now?
Where is BART? updates every 15 seconds to show where your train is throughout the Bay Area.
What more details? Click on any station for arrival times to that station, or browse arrival times the old-fashioned way on BART’s website.

Would you take a date on transit?

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First dates are hard. Even third and fourth dates can get the stomach butterflies churning. You want to make your best impression, and you’re looking for warning signs in your date. Where does transportation fit into this?

Would you suggest riding the bus to dinner on a first date?

What would you think of someone that suggested meeting at BART for a movie?

Do you think the choice to take transit makes you look practical, environmentally conscious, or otherwise like a good potential partner?

Do you think you’ve ever been shot down for not rolling up in your own ride?

Share your stories in the comments!

A halfway summary of Streetfilms Moving Beyond the Automobile (MBA) video series

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From Streetfilms.org comes Moving Beyond the Automobile,

. . . a visual handbook that will help guide policy makers, advocacy organizations, teachers, students, and others into a world that values pedestrian plazas over parking lots and train tracks over highways. Cars were then, and this is now. Welcome to the future.

Every Tuesday, Streetfilms releases a new chapter. As we’re just past the halfway point the series, we’re posting all videos released to date. The trailer for the series is above; the full list of published and unpublished videos is below.
Continue reading “A halfway summary of Streetfilms Moving Beyond the Automobile (MBA) video series”

Capital Corridor smashes January ridership record

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Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor (connecting Sacramento, Davis, Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and San Jose among others) set a new ridership record in January. Over 130,800 passengers boarded the Capitol Corridor route last month, which is 13,000 more riders than January 2010. The 11% increase made January 2011 the best performance of any January in the history of the service.
Expect a new record next January – the Capitol Corridor will have WiFi on every train by the end of 2011.
The Capital Corridor carried 1.62 million riders in the last 12 months – a 4% increase over the previous year. Why are so many people ditching their cars for Amtrak?
The route’s 96% on-time arrival performance might have something to do with it (especially compared to I-80’s on-time rush hour performance). Or is it the frequency of trains? The comfort of the ride?
The answer might be as simple as savings. Amtrak offers multiple ride and unlimited monthly passes. When you consider the cost of gas and the wear and tear on a car, driving get expensive. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a Transit Savings Report in 2008 estimating that transit riders save an average of $9,656 a year. San Francisco residents save even more – $12,738 a year. That doesn’t include the cost of caffeine to stay alert on the freeway or the lost productivity wasted in traffic.
Calculate your own commute to see how much you could save if you used transit more often.
Ready to start a more relaxed commute? Explore 511 Contra Costa’s resources for making the switch to public transit.
Can’t avoid driving? We understand – not everyone commutes along a transit route. Consider looking into carpools or vanpools. Start your own vanpool and we’ll give you $1,000 cash! Guaranteed rides home will make sure you never get stranded at work.
Looking for an even greener way to get around? Use 511CC to plan a scenic bike ride, find a bike buddy, or make biking part of your everyday transportation. Get rolling!

BART to replace all train cars by 2023

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SAN FRANCISCO – BART’s 39-year-old cars are scheduled for an upgrade. Design is underway now, and the transit agency wants your help.
The original cars weren’t intended to last forever, and new cars are an opportunity to advance with the times. BART expects its ridership to increase to 500,000 people per day (up from 335,000 today), and is preparing for its biggest capital investment since opening in 1972. Designing, building, and installing 700 new train cars is expected to cost $3.4 billion.
BART is reaching out to the public to answer the tough questions on the new system, such as:

  • Should the seats be smaller? The current 22-inch wide seats are large relative to other systems such as the D.C. Metro (18 inches) or the Los Angeles Metro (17).
  • Should the cars have more space for bikes, and if so, how? Currently, 4% of BART riders arrive at the station by bike, and bicycle ridership is expected to continue increasing throughout the Bay Area.
  • Should BART keep fabric-covered seats and carpet, or move to other materials that are easier to clean?
  • Should each car have more doors?
  • What type of passenger information should display inside each car?
  • How can BART reconfigure seats to provide more seating?
  • Should the cars have power outlets?

Some of these questions are based more on comfort than science, so BART recently unveiled a new “seating lab” with train seats in all different shapes, sizes, spacing, and materials. BART staff began exploring the examples in late January, and the exhibit will open to the public soon.
BART is looking for your feedback on the new car design, and asks anyone that is interested to sign up for news alerts on the new car project. A design will be chosen some time this year, and the first new cars will start showing up in the BART system in 2018.
For more information: BART’s New Car Project
Previously on 511CC: Fleet of the Future

Transit/vanpool tax benefit extended through 2011

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Along with the holidays comes some good news for commuters who take transit and carpool or vanpool.
As we tweeted a couple of weeks ago, the mass transit tax for commuters was about to expire this year. In 2009, a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) increased the tax benefit from $120 per month to $230 per month–achieving parity with parking benefits–but it was set to expire on December 31, 2010.
However, last week President Barack Obama signed a bill including a provision that extends the $230/mo. benefit at least through the end of 2011.
What does this mean for you? Under the tax break, mass transit riders can save up to $1,000 a year by setting aside $230 a month to cover transit costs. The money is not taxed, and is equal to the pre-tax amount that drivers can set aside for parking.
Continue reading “Transit/vanpool tax benefit extended through 2011”

Two Big BART Projects Break Ground

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(Oakland Airport Connector groundbreaking left, East Contra Costa Bart Extension right)
The past two weeks have marked not one, but two monumentous groundbreakings for BART and Contra Costa County commuters.  The Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) was inaugurated last week and today BART broke ground on the East Contra Costa Bart Extension (eBART) which will extend BART access to eastern Contra Costa County.
Both of the controversial extensions were able to overcome opposition and will in turn stimulate the local economy.  Estimates vary, but the two projects are expected to create anywhere from several hundred to several thousand new jobs over the course of the next five years.
The OAC, a $484 million, 3.2 mile automated people mover will connect the Oakland Coliseum BART Station to the Oakland international Airport. On November 1st, BART will give contractors official notice to proceed, at which point they will have 30 days to deliver their plans for moving forward with construction. Utility relocation will begin shortly thereafter, with construction set to begin in early 2011.
The $462 million, ten mile eBART extension will extend the Pitsburg /Bay Point terminus to a new station on Hillcrest Ave. in Antioch.  The extension will accompany Caltrans’ expantion of Highway 4 from four to six and eight lanes.  The new BART line will be constructed in the median of the new Highway 4 construction and is expected to carry the equivilant of one additional lane worth of commuters.

“For those who sit in traffic every day in this corridor, it’s clear that we need major improvements to address the growth in East Contra Costa County,” said Bijan Sartipi, Caltrans’ Region 4 Director
Due to financial constraints, the extension will use Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) technology but BART and local officials haven’t ruled out the possibility of converting to the traditional system should funds become available in the future.
Construction is expected to start late this year or in early 2011 and BART hopes to have both extensions operational by 2015
For more information, please visit www.bart.gov
Photo credits: Sf.Streetsblog.org

Tri Delta Transit adds real-time arrival information

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Tri Delta Transit, East Contra Costa County’s public transit authority, is in the process of adding GPS-based vehicle locator system for its 69 buses. The system is expected to go live in the next three months after it has been thoroughly tested.
According to Steve Ponte, the Chief Operating Officer for Tri Delta Transit, the top phone inquiry from riders is “When is the next bus going to be here?” With the new system, riders will be able to access real-time arrival information via text message, calling an automated phone line, or online with a laptop or cell phone. At the line’s most popular stops, information for the next bus will be displayed on LED signs.
New features important for disabled riders include verbal announcements and textual displays of the next stop inside of buses.
Tri Delta Transit will join BART, AC Transit and a number of other transit agencies in having real-time information available to riders.
Source: When will next bus arrive? Tri-Delta Transit system will tell you – Contra Costa Times

This Week’s Headlines in Transportation & Transit: Mar. 6-12, 2010

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Local News

Bay Area and California News

Did you know we’re on Twitter? To receive these headlines, information for local transit agencies, 511CC promotions, and more, follow @511CC.