Today's lines for the Harbor Bay Ferry at 4:30 PM. Photo by the author.
The startling fact about the Bay Bridge closure is how few drivers opted to use public transit for their commute. BART and the ferries garnered some 30,000 extra passengers and the rest of 100,000 or so Bay Bridge users chose to either stay at home or drive around on other bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge was at bumper-to-bumper congestion levels this evening, while the San Mateo Bridge saw “heavy” traffic, according to 511.org.
While there were lines at BART’s fare machines at the Embarcadero Station, crowding was not excessive. Lines developed at the San Francisco East Bay Ferry Terminal (Gate E), but contract operator Blue & Gold placed employees there with identified aisles to easily organize the crowds. But apparently, the vast bulk of commuters chose to drive, knowing that their route would be lengthy and congested.
The Bay Area has perhaps the greenest and most liberal constituency found in America. The vast majority here are apparently concerned about Global Warming, Greenhouse Gasses, air pollution, dependence on foreign oil and pollution in general. The people are willing to tax themselves to help fund transit, but demonstrate that they are unwilling to use it – even under stressful times, such as the closure of the busiest bridge in the Bay Area.
Apparently, the allure of the not-so-open road taken in the Lexus, with National Public Radio on the high-definition quad speakers trumps joining the “unwashed” masses that use public transit.
Comments
If BART was even half as useful as the NYC subway or the London tube, everyone would use it and the bridge closure wouldn't be as much of an issue.
But, BART sucks: it doesn't go everywhere it should go (San Jose, for example), it's as expensive as driving, it's slow, and I've always thought those cloth seats smell.
NYC's subway uses a vinyl material that doesn't get as dirty, and it's a cheaper and more efficient way of commuting, which is quite the opposite of BART.
You are correct about the cost of BART compared to other systems, a subject I intend to visit. Cloth seats and rugs will likely be removed with the replacement cars (see BART's web site for interior designs). BART is slow (some 33 MPH average) and not appropriate for longer distances, such as San Jose.
If BART were to have the network utility of the New York City subways, it would serve Marin County in addition to those it already serves, have many more routes in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, and probably have cost triple what the existing system did to build. That last fact would have doomed the whole enterprise - and therefore you wouldn't even have the relief valve that is the Transbay Tube.
It would also have slower average speeds than it does now, not to mention four-track local/express configurations (or three-track configurations for peak-direction expresses) in order to compensate for that.
BART in fact does not suck. But I do not wish to argue about such things. What
I would like to point out however is the lack of perspective
in this article. I believe the main assumption is faulty.
People were encouraged to take alternate routes, alternate transportation
or to telecommute. They did exactly what they were asked to do.
Bridge closure is a great excuse for a day off and a work
at home day! Other people need their cars with them for one reason or
another. BART is not equiped to house the car of
every single rider let alone the people who take it daily.
Coming to the conclusion that people are just
unwilling to take public transit is down right silly.
What is this? Fox News? Reporting is not for
opinions it's for providing comprehensive information.
The Bay Bridge is home to about 280,000 vehicles a day. Out of that group, public transit grabbed 30,000 passengers. It took 50 minutes to cross the Richmond San Rafael Bridge and the Golden Gate was stop and go to San Rafael in the evening, taking some 2 hours to plunk yourself on another bridge so you could join the congestion I-80.
These facts should suggest to anyone that far too many people elected to drive on a day when it was well-known that driving would be miserable. I do think it is odd that people prefer to sit in their cars and spend hours on the commute rather than use transit, but that is apparently what happened.
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