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Prepare for a BART strike, hope for resolution
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Commutes will be even more crowded if BART workers strike.
On Wednesday, BART admitted that a strike could be imminent. Besides the usual alerts about which elevators are not running, I had this waiting in my inbox:
BART is currently negotiating labor contracts. There's no indication that a service disruption will definitely occur, but if a settlement isn't reached it's possible that BART service may be affected as early as Wednesday, July 1st.
As a BART News email subscriber you'll be receiving official BART updates about any potential service disruptions. In the meantime, we've assembled a list of travel options just in case a strike occurs, and we'll keep it up-to-date for your reference.
Some of the options are the ones I presented yesterday: stay home ("telecommute"), carpool, or ride your bike. An intriguing option: "In the event of a strike, BART will provide limited charter bus service between East Bay BART stations and downtown San Francisco." You can check the BART site for more information on that if the strike happens.
As an e-mail from my employer pointed out, you can hook up with other commuters interested in ride-sharing through 511.org. The "Alternate transit plans" sidebar links to various agencies' plans in the event of a BART strike. Notably, Golden Gate Transit suggests driving, even noting that carpools of 3 or more don't have to pay the Golden Gate Bridge toll during commute hours. That 3-person carpool rule applies for tolls on all other Bay Area bridges; for a bridge-by-bridge schedule of "commute hours," check the Bay Area Toll Authority site.
On an optimistic note, apparently BART management and unions requested a state mediator, which is how they avoided a strike during the last contract negotiation. Cross your fingers -- and make your plans.
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