BART unions announced their plans to strike on Sunday August 16, 2009 at Midnight. 511 Contra Costa has carpools for all commuters traveling to, from or through Contra Costa County and free WestCAT Lynx Express Bus passes for commuters traveling from Hercules to San Francisco.
Vallejo Transit is adding more ferries.
WestCAT is running the J and JPXservice to El Cerrito Del Norte BART as well as Lynx service to San Francisco.
Read more about the impending strike on the BART website.
Starting this Friday, September 4, BART will be running trains 24 hours a day during the September 4th – 7th Bay Bridge closure. The trains will run hourly to 14 stations.
Stations with overnight service:
For more info on BARTs overnight trains during the Bay Bridge closure check out the BART news page.
We are two months in to our $25 Peet’s Coffee & Tea gift card giveaway promotion. Winning is easy. Just be a new Twitter follower of @511CC or retweet us to be entered into our monthly drawing.
Not only will following us on Twitter give you the chance to win free coffee, but you will receive handy updates from us on important Contra Costa County traffic information, Spare the Air days and info about our numerous cool promotions like free BART passes to baseball games, carpooling incentives and more.
Our June and July winners were Norma (@normallyp) and Jerry (@DearJellyHiJely). Both of whom are probably enjoying some delicious Peet’s coffee right now on us.
We’ll be giving away the next gift card at the end of August so there is still plenty of time to get in the runnings!
Follow 511 Contra Costa on Twitter: http://twitter.com/511cc
What is Twitter? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
This Monday BART announced it has started a limited rollout of TransLink fare payments. Everyone has been expecting a soft launch like this from BART at some point but it seemed like it would never actually happen.
The TransLink project has gained a lot of clout lately with BART and Muni on board. Next up is Caltrain which will rollout TransLink payments on August 17th. The possibility of a universal Bay Area transit card is finally starting to seem like a reality. Translink is also currently available on AC Transit, Dumbarton Express, and Golden Gate Transit and Ferry.
TransLink is still not officially supported by BART and TransLink users attempting to ride BART are asked to always have an alternate payment method available as the system is in the early stages of launch and the kinks are still being worked out.
From the BART Website:
“Anyone else with a TransLink card is welcome to use it on BART during this limited rollout period, as long as they have a TransLink card loaded with sufficient e-cash (electronic cash), an adult Muni Fast Pass, or a BART High Value Discount ticket (which can only be added online at www.clippercard.com). You can sign up for a TransLink card at any time through the TransLink website.
Because passengers are always responsible for fare payment, please be sure to bring along other means of payment such as an EZ Rider card, a BART blue ticket or cash as a backup during the limited rollout of TransLink on BART.“
For more information on the TransLink/BART launch check out the BART news page, the SFGATE article on the BART TransLink launch and the TransLink website.
The Martinez city council has recently adopted a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve energy. 511 Contra Costa will be working with the City of Martinez in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Martinez hopes steer more of its residents toward greener transportation forms such as biking, walking and transit. This is something we here at 511 Contra Costa excel at. We look forward to working with the City of Martinez to achieve its goals.
Read more about the City of Martinez Climate Action Plan in the Contra Costa Times.
Get additional info on the City of Martinez on their Website.
As America’s economic challenges continue, 511 Contra Costa will join with other public transportation systems nationwide to participate in the fourth annual National Dump the Pump Day on June 18. Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the 2009 National Dump the Pump Day is a day that encourages people to ride public transportation to save money, protect the environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and improve our quality of life.
Individuals can achieve an average annual savings of over $8,000 by taking public transportation instead of driving and by living with one less car. And for every $1 invested in public transportation infrastructure, $6 is generated in economic returns to communities.
Public transportation saves 900,000 automobile fill-ups each day – 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year. And switching to public transportation can reduce individual carbon emissions by 20 pounds per day or 4,800 pounds per year.
If you currently drive alone to work, try taking the bus, train or BART instead.
Provided you meet our eligibility requirements, 511ContraCosta.org will provide you with a $64 BART pass plus bus, good for about one week’s worth of free commuting.
Click here to fill out our transit incentive form and get your free pass.
This is really cool! The El Cerrito BART location is now the second book lending machine in Conta Costa County. It debuts today, and all day today Contra Costa County library employees will be on hand to sign up residents for Contra Costa County library cards. For those of you who already have a Contra Costa County library card, jsut pop in and check out a book.
The first Contra Costa book lending machine which opened last year at the Pittsburg-Bay Point BART was the first in the nation. A third machine is planned for Pleasant Hill.
Read more on the Contra Costa Times website, and on the BART website.
The first of 1,100 new solar powered bus shelters was unveiled yesterday in San Francisco. The solar power generated by the structure’s wavy red roof will be used to power LED lighting, the NextBus display, intercom and wireless routers.
You can check out the full story on SF Streets Blog.
For more detailed photos have a look at the images from Mike Chino and Ryan Hughes at Inhabitat.
As a part of its new rail car project BART has announced it plans to hold three community meetings some time in the Summer and Fall of 2009. They will be held across the BART service area. This will be your opportunity to give input on the next generation of BART rail cars to be in service for the next 30 years.
From the BART New Rail Car Project website:
Many of the BART cars in service today have been running since 1972. If BART is going to keep providing dependable service, it is essential for BART to replace the aging fleet of 700rail cars with newer, more reliable vehicles. The rail car replacement project is a $3.4 Billion capital investment that will span more than a decade and require a coordinated regional effort.
The meetings are being planned across the BART service area, with tentative meeting locations under consideration for Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco Counties. Sign up for email news and updates about BARTs New Rail Cars and you will be informed automatically as details of these meetings become available.
For more information check out the BART new rail car project webpage.
511 Contra Costa is helping youths under 17 years of age in east Contra Costa County gain transit experience and become more earth-friendly by providing $10 off the price of a Summer Youth Pass for unlimited fixed-route rides from Tri Delta Transit. Each family can help “Spare the Air” by reducing the number of miles driven. Every gallon of gas consumed is equivalent to 20 pounds of CO2.. Get your discounted pass now.
Go green and use public transportation, carpool, vanpool, walk and cycle instead of driving alone. Click on the links at the top of the page to apply for your free start-up incentives valued at $60. Download the PDF for Green Start Up Incentive Here
