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BART: Bay Area Rapid Transit

135K views 563 replies 61 participants last post by  CAAndrew 
#1 ·
This is the existing system:


http://www.bart.gov

And extension to Warm Springs is under construction:


http://sfist.com/2009/12/15/construction_beginning_on_barts_war.php

An extension of the service, using smaller/cheaper diesel vehicles and called eBART is also under construction in the North Bay:


http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/ecc/

Further development of eBART has been proposed:


http://www.thepress.net/pages/full_story/push?article-Officials+explore+eBART+extension &id=17229399

Expansion in the South Bay, bringing BART to San Jose and providing a connection with that city's growing LRV system, recently received funding.

The project will be delivered in phases, with construction on the first phase, the ten-mile Berryessa Extension project, due to begin in 2012.
This extension of the regional BART rail system was designed and is being built by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) . . . . The joint venture of Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog was awarded a $772m design-build contract in December 2011. The scope of work includes construction of the line, track, systems and stations for the ten-mile Berryessa Extension.
http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/bart-silicon-valley-berryessa-extension-project/


http://www.railway-technology.com/p...icon-valley-berryessa-extension-project1.html

Finally, BART is moving farther east in the Trivalleys area as well:

On Febrary 9, 2012 the BART Board gave approval for staff to initiate work on an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the potential extension of BART service to the City of Livermore. This is a legally mandated process that will examine the alternatives, costs and impacts of a possible extension to Livermore.
http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/liv/

Stations (From this point on, all photos http://world.nycsubway.org/us/sf/index.html )

Platform MacArthur Station


Platform 19th St., Oakland


Platform 12th St., Oakland


Platform Lake Merritt Station


Platform Fruitvale Station


Platform Coliseum Station


Platform San Leandro Station


Platform BayFair Station


Platform Hayward Station


Platform South Hayward Station


Platform Union City Station


Platform Fremont Station


Platform Ashby Station


Platform North Berkeley Station


Platform Berkeley Station


Platform El Cerrito Plaza Station


Platform El Cerrito del Norte Station


Platform Richmond Station


Platform Rockridge Station


Platform Orinda Station


Platform Lafayette Station


Platform Walnut Creek Station


Platform Pleasant Hill Station


Platform Concord Station


Platform North Concord Station


Platform Pittsburg-Bay Point Station


Platform West Oakland Station


Platform Embarcadero Station


Platform Montgomery St. Station


Platform Powell St. Station


Platform Civic Center Station


Mezzanine 16th St. Station


Platform 16th St. (Mission) Station


Mezzanine 24th St Station


Platform 24th St. Station


Platform Balboa Park Station


Platform Daly City Station


Platform Colma Station


Platform South San Francisco Station


Platform San Bruno Station


Platform Millbrae Station


Platform San Francisco International Airport



Trains

 
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#522 ·
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09...a-measure-second-bay-crossing-new-fare-gates/

“There is no more important project than the second crossing” for the next several decades of Bay Area transportation, BART General Manager Robert Powers
This line of thinking hinges on the idea that we *must* connect people to SF. It ignores the better ROI we'll get by improving transit within the counties.

And it ignores that the basis of the load on the tube is the severe and self-imposed housing shortage in SF. Should the whole bay area spend tens of billions just so that SF can continue to offload the housing burden on to east bay cities?
 
#525 ·
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09...a-measure-second-bay-crossing-new-fare-gates/

This line of thinking hinges on the idea that we *must* connect people to SF. It ignores the better ROI we'll get by improving transit within the counties.

And it ignores that the basis of the load on the tube is the severe and self-imposed housing shortage in SF. Should the whole bay area spend tens of billions just so that SF can continue to offload the housing burden on to east bay cities?

You have a good point, and SF should certainly be building more housing. however, over 50% of BARTs ridership is to/from Market St. SF as it is the only place in the Bay Area with sufficient jobs density to support high transit mode share.

As a region. we should be Increasing the density of jobs in other major centers like Oakland and DTSJ and making sure they are also served by high capacity transit like BART. That is the only way to increase regional transit mode share in the future.

I suggest taxing companies based on where they are located. A new regional transit tax that is lowest for companies located in transit rich areas would be ideal, A payroll tax based on average VMT per employee is a possible mechanism to achieve this.
 
#526 ·
VTA Inks Landmark Deal with BART Over South Bay Extension

https://www.sanjoseinside.com/2019/11/11/vta-inks-landmark-deal-with-bart-over-south-bay-extension/

The new Operations and Maintenance Agreement has been three-and-a-half years in the making and comes 18 years after VTA entered into an agreement to bring BART to the South Bay. The two agencies shook hands on the deal just as BART is finishing construction on its Milpitas and San JoseÂ’s Berryessa stations.
According to VTA spokeswoman Bernice Alaniz regarding Phase II:
VTA has also delayed Phase II of VTA’s six-mile extension from the Berryessa to the 28th Street/Little Portugal, Downtown San Jose, Diridon and Santa Clara stations from 2026 to 2030. And even that deadline isn’t set in stone, according to Alaniz.
In the final part of this article, Santa Clara councilwoman and VTA board member Teresa O’Neill says:
“At this point, I don't know how accurate it is for anyone to make a prediction [of completing Phase II],” “I’m hopeful that [BART] will find a way to get it open. We were in a meeting with a couple BART people. They have to tamper down some of the expectations on their side.”
Based upon Bart's track record of late, the year of 2030 is probably an overly optimistic date. The longer the delays, the more cost overruns which means that VTA/Bart will have to go to the well for additional funding (probably in the hundreds of millions) to get this project completed.
 
#529 ·
Good News for VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Project

Over many months, VTA and BART have been sharply focused on overcoming hurdles that have tried to derail the long-time goal of bringing critical transportation solutions to Santa Clara County. At a special VTA Board of Director’s meeting today, the public received an update on the second, 6-mile phase into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara that radiated progress and partnerships.
VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project has reached a critical decision point. Since last summer, VTA began advancing the conceptual design of a larger single-bore tunnel with side-by-side tracks within the tunnel. Earlier this year, engineering on the larger diameter tunnel reached a 10% design level indicating higher projected risks and costs beyond the funding available. VTA also held an industry forum to share project information with prime and subcontractors and tunneling experts. Following this forum, we received feedback from tunneling contractors that due to the higher risks associated with the larger tunnel, they may be less inclined to bid on the project, thus reducing competition and increasing prospective bids. Higher projected costs and associated risks required us to take a step back and review the options for moving forward with delivering on our long-standing promise to build a 16-mile extension of the regional BART system.
Evaluating the Options
An evaluation was done of the larger bore along with both tunnel configurations that were analyzed in the environmental document, twin-bore and single bore (with stacked platforms at stations). These three configurations were evaluated based on available funding constraints, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding process, environmental clearance, construction impacts, contracting risks, innovation opportunities and consistency with BART system. The twin-bore configuration remains to be a less favorable option due to its construction impacts, specifically in the downtown San Jose core. The larger single bore has shown to be cost-prohibitive with higher projected risk and, as such, will not be further pursued at this time.
While BART expressed earlier operational concerns with the environmentally cleared single bore stacked platform configuration, there is an opportunity to address these concerns through some design enhancements. A solution with this configuration may be achieved as a sensible option for VTA and Santa Clara County residents and taxpayers. And as explained throughout this effort, it remains essential for VTA to work with BART to identify an acceptable configuration because BART will ultimately operate the system.
Enhanced Single Bore Option
This month, in the spirit of continued collaboration, VTA staff began exploring ways to enhance and optimize the single bore stacked configuration to address BART concerns related to emergency egress, challenges with train operations and proposed ventilation designs that differ compared to the rest of the BART underground system.
In response to BART’s concerns, enhancements to the single bore project have been developed by utilizing the 13th Street and Stockton Avenue mid-tunnel ventilation facility sites to optimize both ventilation and emergency evacuation, and provide operational flexibility. These changes include reconfiguration and enhancement of these sites and refinements to the track arrangement within the single-bore tunnel. Two methods of delivering these optimizations are being considered: one with a single bore for the entire length of the alignment, and the other through the use of twin-bore tunnels for a portion of the alignment from the Berryessa tail tracks to the 13th Street mid tunnel ventilation facility.
VTA now plans to perform engineering analysis on both these concepts, incorporating operational input from BART, while evaluating cost and schedule. Once this is complete, a recommendation on an option to further advance for Federal funding will be shared with the Board of Directors.
Before Phase Two, there is Phase One! What’s the status?
The first 10 miles known as VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension Project (Phase I Project) has transitioned from a VTA construction project to pre-passenger testing and operations being conducted by BART. Passenger service is planned to begin in a couple of months. This milestone was achieved through essential collaboration between VTA and BART guided by a Comprehensive Agreement executed in 2001 that defines the roles and responsibilities of each organization – VTA funds, designs with BART input, builds and owns the infrastructure and BART is the service operator.
In simple terms, trains should be rolling soon!
 
#530 ·
19 years to open the less complicated Phase 1.

So 2045-2050 for Phase 2?

Initially it truly appeared the single bore was a win for community and VTA, however given their continued discussion and analysis, if everyone is happy with cut and cover and there are no opportunities for excuses later, I think whatever brings BART the final mile the most efficiently is best for the region.

Fortunately the EIR covered both options.
 
#532 ·
Is BART that single tube up to 6 floors down? Well then, use the underground space between the concourse and platform for multiple purposes, not just for BART equipment. Perhaps underground shopping arcades to increase commercial land value downtown might be a suitable solution. But the more fundamental problem would be to increase land value at ground level, especially with Santa Clara Street acting like a wide boulevard currently.
 
#534 ·
I heard through one of my best friends. But I am wary if I wanna travel that day, especially with the pandemic still looming. If they do have an event, I suspect it will be with no live audience and just a few cameras to open the new stations. Hopefully, once the necessary precautions have been addressed and the shelter-in-place orders are lifted, I will ride through the new portion for myself and make my thoughts, especially when transferring between BART and VTA Light Rail at Milpitas (Montague).
 
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#545 ·
At this point, it's about as big as the network is going to get, including the extension to DTSJ. As a tool, it's already in use beyond its best-use case--to transport high densities of riders through the smallest possible tunnels and on car-like grades.

It, really, should not have been extended as broadly as it has been. At the regional distances it covers, standard regional rail could offer faster service. Yes, services like the Corridor may be slower, but they haven't had the benefit of designated ROW. BART is as fast as it is going to get, whereas even diesel locomotives can do 125 if the tracks allow.

Caltrain is being electrified and already connects the south bay and the peninsula, so there's no positive ROI for extending BART to mountain view. The need to make a connection at Diridon or Santa Clara doesn't change that.

The thing is, Americans hate connections because our services are infrequent and unreliable. If anything goes wrong making the connection, the rider can be screwed. But, in other countries where services are frequent and reliable, those connections are much less of a concern. And, here's the thing: a lot of countries with much better services don't even try all that hard to make connections easy. Going from Caltrain to BART at Millbrae is much easier than a lot of very common connections in Japan.
 
#549 · (Edited)
I'm going to SF in two weeks and I need some recommondations and I hope someone can help me. I'm planning to take the BART from the airport to downtown, gat out at Unions Square and from there it need to get to my hotel nearby Fishermans warf.
Can someone here conform that I take the Yellow Line to Civic center station or Montgommery street and then take L-OWL busline or line 8 to Fisherman's Warf?

-Do I need to buy a ticket up front or can I just pay cash when entering the bus?

Additionally, 2 days later I need to be in Hayward on Clawiter Rd. I know there is a bart station near downtown Hayward, but how to get to Clawiter Rd? Is the only option a taxi/uber?

Then afther 3 weeks, I need to go from Hayward back to the airport. How long would that ride be?

-Where do I get tickets for BART? What is the cheapest option for multiple trips?
-What is the intervals of the trains?
-Does the system generally run on tilme?

Is there a route planner for the whole OV system in the Bay area? So far I couldn't find any. The reason is, I hate Taxi's and uber.

Thanks in advance!
 
#550 ·
Link 21 to BART 2.0
Transport Oakland wants your help in planning a new and better rapid transit system for the Bay Area
3:10 PM PDT on July 11, 2023
By David Ying

The Bay Area is in the middle of the Link21 planning process, led by BART and Capitol Corridor, to design a second transbay tube. The region needs to adapt the program to post-pandemic travel needs, repair historical gaps and harms created by the current system, and learn from long standing international best practices for rail systems that connect urban cores to extended regions.

...

Out of that conversation came the following principles:



Balance Neighborhood Impacts with Greater Neighborhood Access
Intercity and regional connectivity are important, but locations where major infrastructure upgrades are contemplated (Central Oakland, East Oakland, Richmond) must also benefit in terms of increased regional access. We must not repeat the mistakes of midcentury transportation infrastructure in disrupting communities solely to benefit suburban white collar commuters to Downtown SF. New stations and high levels of service/access must be provided in these locations.

Repair the Harms of BART 1.0 by Adding Infill Stations
Speaking of unfinished business, Link21 should commit to adding an infill station in the San Antonio District of Oakland, regardless of which type of rail is used. The gap between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale BART is the longest in the system’s urban core. The original buildout of BART went past Eastlake and San Antonio in order to prioritize service times to southern and eastern Alameda County suburbs. An infill station around 14th Avenue should be prioritized as part of the Link21 Program.Other BART infill stations could be considered such as 55th Avenue and 51st Street in Oakland. If a regional rail electrical multiple unit (EMU) option is chosen, infill regional rail stations could be added in Berkeley, Richmond, and Oakland as well.

This is especially important as BART faces down post-COVID financial challenges stemming from a drop-off in ridership. Since the explosion in remote work, longer-distance suburb-to-city center trips during peak hours have decreased significantly. Meanwhile, shorter-distance off-peak trips made primarily by service sector workers in the system’s urban core haven’t as much, smoothing out trip demand while requiring more frequency. Better serving these trips with ridership-generating infill stations and frequent all-day service would be both an equity boon and improve the fiscal health of BART in a particularly-dangerous time.

Prioritize Intermodal Transfer near Job Centers
A transfer between regional rail and BART gauge trains must be located near the Oakland Central Business District. This could occur at 14th Street and 980, Jack London or another location. Given Downtown Oakland’s continued job and housing growth, locating the primary intermodal transfer station on the East Bay side in West Oakland or at the Coliseum would be counterproductive. In contrast, there is a stronger argument for shifting the route on the West Bay side to new markets like Mission Bay. The job cluster of medical services, research, and universities near Mission Bay is more likely to continue to need transit in the future.

Maximize the Regional Rail Option with Transfers and Frequent Electric Shuttles
A second transbay crossing will undoubtedly be expensive, so we must make the most of it by maximizing trains per hour in the urban core while facilitating longer-distance travel. The Link21 planning materials sets up a contrast between options that serve core urban travel and options that serve longer distances. But an international model of regional rail supports both purposes with frequent and dense urban core service that also enables seamless longer-distance travel.

The Elizabeth Line’s high capacity and use at 24 trains per hour should be a benchmark for planning. If a regional rail option is selected for a second crossing, the reliability issues of passenger rail running on freight-owned rights of way may require some of those services to transfer at either Coliseum or Richmond in order to maintain schedule and operations for the tube. This will require a high-frequency Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) service to run between Coliseum/Richmond/MacArthur and points south of 4th and King or along a Geary subway to facilitate access to West Bay locations. Such a service can serve intercity riders seeking a rail trip into San Francisco as well as core Bay Area riders looking for fast, frequent service between the inner East Bay and the Peninsula.

Through-Running is a Must
Any option must allow trains to through-run between the Transbay Terminal and the to-be-determined Oakland hub. Terminal stations, where trains stop in a central city area and slowly turn around for a return trip, are an artifact of American commuter railroading that focused on trains serving white collar commute travel and de-emphasized other types of trips.

Through-running opens up more job markets, makes staffing easier, eases operational challenges, and allows more trains to run through a very expensive second tube. Link21 staff should not shy away from through-running options that may subvert expectations. For example, there is no reason why a subway to Geary cannot be a regional rail EMU with connections to Transbay Terminal and on through the second tube to Downtown Oakland, Oakland Coliseum or Richmond.
Link 21 to BART 2.0 - Streetsblog San Francisco
 
#552 ·
^

Unauthorized BART film sells out San Francisco theater
By Timothy Karoff
July 25, 2023

Last Tuesday night, people packed into a sold-out Roxie Theater to see what BART operators look at every day: the view from the front of the train.

In the opening voiceover to “Tunnel Vision: An Unauthorized BART Ride,” director Vincent Woo reads an invocation: “The landscape whizzes by as if you’re gliding through space like some kind of no-clipping ghost. Still, one thing bothers you: You can only see to the side.”

“Tunnel Vision” grew out of this curiosity. Armed with a suction cup, two GoPros (one was lost between San Bruno and Daly City), and a good-natured sense of mischief, Woo fastened a video camera to the front of a northbound train at SFO. He then rode the train 90 minutes to Pittsburg/Bay Point, where he hopped out, snagged his camera and took the footage home (after an awkward confrontation with a train operator). Over the point-of-view footage, Woo narrates bits of BART's history, interviews a train operator and even speaks with state Sen. Scott Wiener about the system’s funding crisis.

Woo, who is 34, has lived in the Bay Area for nearly his entire life. Before “Tunnel Vision,” he used to mount GoPros on Muni bike racks to capture the view from the front of the bus. “The footage wasn't as good because it just looks like you're driving a car,” he told SFGATE. “It's not otherworldly the way the BART footage is.”

“Otherworldly” is the right word. With their metal pipes and stained concrete walls, BART tunnels look like something out of a steampunk lair. As the train screams past regularly spaced fluorescent lights, the tunnel pulses with an orange glow; in the distance, light from the tunnel's mouth flares in the shape of a star. And finally, there’s the sound: a dull, grinding hum, constant but endlessly modulating.

Still, the best part of the experience was not the surreal footage but the chance to share it with an enthusiastic audience. The crowd was peppered with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency merchandise: Muni hoodies and BART beanies and Christmas sweaters. When the train pulled into a station, the audience sometimes clapped and cheered. (16th and Mission got the most cheers. I tried to start a round of applause at Powell Street, but it didn’t catch on.) A man sitting in front of me began headbanging to the chime of the closing doors. On the tracks, these elements of public transit are banalities, but here in a dark theater, they became inside jokes, shared points of pride.

Near the start of the film, Woo interviews Michael Healy, who worked as BART’s director of public affairs from 1971 to 2005. (Healy also authored “BART: The Dramatic History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System,” which Woo referred to fondly in our interview.) While the train travels from Balboa Park to Glen Park, Woo asks Healy, “Is there some aspect of BART that you think is particularly underappreciated by the public?”

“Yeah,” Healy laughs. “I would say the entire system.”
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/a...ater-18257721.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight
 
#553 ·
The end of an era!

Had to go and pay respects and say good bye to a Bay Area icon (that turns 51 years old today) that’s been a big part of my life since the beginning. I was able to catch a glimpse of the last ever scheduled legacy BART train. It was a 10 car, Richmond bound train. Thank you for your service. Rest easy, old friend.

There will be an official retiring run ceremony in 2024, but this train was the last legacy train as part of the base schedule.

Here she is, riding off into the sunset:



Here was the second to last legacy train:



Starting today, BART will be exclusively running new Fleet of the Future trains for its base schedule. The legacy fleet will be available for extra event trains or for emergency contingencies but they will no longer be a regular part of BART's fleet.

 
#555 ·
Better start using up all your old paper tickets!

BART paper tickets will no longer be accepted after Nov. 30, accelerating transit agency into digital era
Unused fare balances can be refunded or donated to a local nonprofit

By KATIE LAUER | klauer@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 2, 2023 at 6:15 a.m. | UPDATED: November 2, 2023 at 6:20 a.m.

Start dusting off the old paper BART tickets stuffed into the depths of your wallet, because the transit agency will stop accepting these blue-and-white magstripe passes at station fare gates on Nov. 30.

The switch will finally usher in the full transition to all-in-one Clipper cards, which are more durable, reloadable and accepted by every transit system in the Bay Area.

Bay Area Rapid Transit officials are now advising riders to use up any remaining balances — stamped directly onto the passes — before the slots accepting paper tickets are officially covered on fare gates.

As BART riders reminisce about struggling to resurrect crumpled tickets and consider ways to preserve the latest lost symbol of a bygone transit era — joining cloth seats and carpeted trains — many will be looking for ways to redeem their unused funds. They cannot be transferred onto Clipper cards, which are administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, but old tickets with balances higher than $1 can be refunded or donated to a local nonprofit on BART’s website.

Plans to phase out the paper tickets were first unveiled in 2019, and BART officially stopped selling the paper tickets in Dec. 2020, with a brief resurgence in 2022 to counter a shortage of plastic cards.

Physical, plastic Clipper cards can still be purchased for $3 at vending machines installed at all stations, while digital Clipper cards can also be registered and loaded onto virtual wallets and smartwatches using apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

For the biggest fans bemoaning the demise of paper tickets, at least one Bay Area-based designer sells stickers that can transform plastic Clipper cards into the formerly beloved magstripe tickets.

Starting in 2024, riders will be allowed to pay by directly swiping credit and debit cards at new “fare-evasion-proof” gates that will be installed across all BART stations by 2025 — following similar contactless options already used by transit systems in London and New York City.

Transit officials confirmed that a waiver for the $3 fee for new plastic Clipper cards will remain available, alongside other discounts for youth, seniors, people with disabilities and low-income riders.
 
#556 ·
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