• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

BART (SF Bay public transit): We need billions to rebuild our system

Status
Not open for further replies.

Dalek

Member
Never been to SF but why don't more people opt for purchasing a car?

835133_1280x720.jpg
 
The bay area is divided into two metro areas, so looking at only the SF/Oakland metro area is misleading. BART is going to cover the SCV area as well, so it makes sense looking at the larger region, not just the SF metro area.

BART is never coming to the Silicon Valley.
 

h1nch

Member
Never been to SF but why don't more people opt for purchasing a car?

Driving near SF is a nightmare. Plus a lot of times the place you rent doesn't come w/ a parking spot. You'd have to pay for one, and in many cases it costs more than what an apartment would cost in a more sane part of the country.
 

Aureon

Please do not let me serve on a jury. I am actually a crazy person.
It's time the US gets gas taxes up to their real externalities.

BART needs to go the way of Japan and sell to competing private companies. When money is on the line (or to be made), systems become a lot more efficient.

Because the privatization of rails, like UK's, has gone so swimmingly well!
Italy's gotten worse with it, too.
There's no goddamn reason i can book a Rome - Venice ticket for 10€, but can't find anything for Rome - Milan (Same distance) under 40. And i'm not talking state-subsidized lines, here. Fuckers are full on fleecing by rights of their practical monopoly.
 

Dalek

Member
Who thought that was a good idea?

Mind you this picture is only capturing about 1/10th of the traffic backup that is pouring in from all directions to this toll plaza. It's backed up in Berkeley and Oakland-all for people driving into the city.
 

Glix

Member
are there any good solutions?

The LIRR is a nightmare, the system was built for less people then it caters too and it is a hot mess.

The MTA is a giant money pit as well.
 
Mind you this picture is only capturing about 1/10th of the traffic backup that is pouring in from all directions to this toll plaza. It's backed up in Berkeley and Oakland-all for people driving into the city.

And it's all going to the Bay Bridge, so at some point it's going to be a reduction of lanes to get into SF.
 

Plum

Member
All the people who might be able to help are too busy in their private helicopters, chauffeured limos and teleportation devices to worry about plebeian travel like public train services.
 
LA fixed their Metro funding problem by voting in a half cent sales tax, raising billions for light rail projects, and on the verge of renewing it on this years ballot.

I imagine this is much more difficult to do with no single jurisdiction which encompasses the whole system.

Not only renewing it (effectively making it permanent) but also expanding it. LA's public transportation has become really great just in the time I've been here.
 

Brandson

Member
Was in SF for the first time in June and took all forms of public transit there. Aside from the stations being pretty dirty, BART was not that bad at all. It actually runs at a decent speed, unlike Toronto's subways which are driven at about half that speed, or slower, for unexplained reasons.

One thing about BART they need to address is the elevators. We were there with two kids and a stroller so we logically used the elevator at Union Square when arriving. Big mistake. The smell in there was suffocating from festering layers of urine and other human waste. There were fresh human droppings all over downtown as well, but at least outside it can air out. In those elevators, there is no escape. Avoid at all costs.
 
One thing about BART they need to address is the elevators. We were there with two kids and a stroller so we logically used the elevator at Union Square when arriving. Big mistake. The smell in there was suffocating from festering layers of urine and other human waste. There were fresh human droppings all over downtown as well, but at least outside it can air out. In those elevators, there is no escape. Avoid at all costs.

They just started install these shit proof and pee proof coating on the elevators ....lol
 
BART is coming to Santa Clara Valley, as it is going to hook up to Diridon station. SCV = Santa Clara Valley.

wut

They are building the extension to berryessa right now lol

It's not coming to the South Bay. I've heard this for decades. I just simply don't believe it at this point. So many times they've voted on measures that were supposed to be the "last" piece to get it down here and it's still not here. Hell, I knew someone who moved to the area and got all excited when he was told that a BART station was planned for near the house he bought and it was going to happen "soon". He's since moved away from there and it still not here. I just refuse to believe it's ever going to happen at this point. It's also why I laugh at CA trying to do a high speed rail between SoCal and NorCal.
 

olympia

Member
It's not coming to the South Bay. I've heard this for decades. I just simply don't believe it at this point. So many times they've voted on measures that were supposed to be the "last" piece to get it down here and it's still not here. Hell, I knew someone who moved to the area and got all excited when he was told that a BART station was planned for near the house he bought and it was going to happen "soon". He's since moved away from there and it still not here. I just refuse to believe it's ever going to happen at this point. It's also why I laugh at CA trying to do a high speed rail between SoCal and NorCal.

omg dude. If you drive down to the flea market you can literally see them building it

The extension to dtsj will never happen though
 
Why the hell would you try to merge 19 lanes into 4 (or 5?).

Because what you don't see is right afterwards, you're on the Bay Bridge to SF.

omg dude. If you drive down to the flea market you can literally see them building it

The extension to dtsj will never happen though

I've seen them building extensions from Fremont, but I refuse to believe it'll be ever completed. I've heard the lies too many times now. Seriously, decades of delays and lies.
 
What
the
fuck

Looks worse than DC.

Driving near SF is a nightmare. Plus a lot of times the place you rent doesn't come w/ a parking spot. You'd have to pay for one, and in many cases it costs more than what an apartment would cost in a more sane part of the country.

That's bullshit and unfair. In my area a parking space is expected AND free. Sometimes apartments charge for garages or you can park your car in the parking lot for free. Hearing this makes me wonder why anyone would live directly in the area... then again it'd probably be a nightmare to commute from the outskirts?

Ugh. I'm sorry you guys deal with that. Damn.
 
What
the
fuck

Looks worse than DC.

To be fair, that's an extreme and probably the worst spot in the area since it's all being funneled to a bridge that is the only way in to SF from the East Bay. without having to go way out of your way to get there.

That's bullshit and unfair. In my area a parking space is expected AND free. Sometimes apartments charge for garages or you can park your car in the parking lot for free. Hearing this makes me wonder why anyone would live directly in the area... then again it'd probably be a nightmare to commute from the outskirts?

Ugh. I'm sorry you guys deal with that. Damn.

I knew people who would park illegally because the odds of getting a ticket for the month would add up to less than the cost of paying for legit parking.
 

olympia

Member
I've seen them building extensions from Fremont, but I refuse to believe it'll be ever completed. I've heard the lies too many times now. Seriously, decades of delays and lies.

i mean...

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_28940696/berryessa-bart-station-rises-north-san-jose

"Construction is moving along nicely at the Berryessa BART Station," Brandi Childress, a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority spokesperson, said.

http://kron4.com/2016/04/01/constru...g-structure-at-future-berryessa-bart-station/

Test trains will start running along the 10 miles of tracks in this fall, according to agency officials.

you can keep believing what you want to believe though.
 

MC_Hify

Member
That's bullshit and unfair. In my area a parking space is expected AND free. Sometimes apartments charge for garages or you can park your car in the parking lot for free. Hearing this makes me wonder why anyone would live directly in the area... then again it'd probably be a nightmare to commute from the outskirts?
Ugh. I'm sorry you guys deal with that. Damn.

Keep in mind the city is too dense to have parking lots for every building.
 

Harp

Member
Hey you guys could be Mpls we have two light rail lines to no where for 3 billion,and they are about to spend 2 billion to do one additional line. And get this about 90 percent of these lines run on the street. So what used to be a 15 express bus ride is now a hour long train ride. If you guys need money tell the feds to take the 900 million they are giving us to build the 3rd train of triple your commute. An if you at all feel guilty for trying to take the money don't worry it will only be used by an area with half the population of oakland with an average household income of $90k.
 

Zhengi

Member
Take the money from the high speed rail boondoggle and put it into intercity public transportation. The California legislature also needs to start putting more of the budget towards public transportation rather than the minuscule amount they put into this area.
 
Oh BART. BART you could be awesome. I only take it when the family needs to go to the Brazilian consulate. It is damn expensive to take, and you're lucky when you can get a train in 15 minutes.

Now I'd love to see it improved on greatly, and it's not a shock it'd take billions to fix it.
 

GuyKazama

Member
Parking at my apartment is $300 / mo.
Parking near where I used to work was $17 / day
Park on the street for even a few hours in those areas, and your window will be smashed.
Traffic is a nightmare in the city, and I'm used to driving in LA.

I got rid of my car as soon as the lease was up when I moved.
 

Ripenen

Member
BART was amazing when I worked in SF and lived in the East Bay. For five years I never once drove to work. Hop on a train and read a book, play a game, or just sleep. Man it was great. My company had a commuter ticket program to help with the cost.

Still, it's nuts that some folks commute from Dublin (or Tracy wtf!) all the way to SF every day.
 
Still, it's nuts that some folks commute from Dublin (or Tracy wtf!) all the way to SF every day.

It is Nuts! Lots of people do it, my friend did it for years. Problem is that it's just damn expensive to own anything up to the Livermore or San Jose area, so people spread out farther east or south and even north, just to live in affordable housing.
I'm lucky enough to own something in the East bay, but it's damn insane if you wanna buy anything in the bay area right now.
So as some people said it would be nice if they could fix BART up right so that it could expand and service a greater area. Cost and train availability is a biggie, not sure how they'll tackle the cost part, can't imagine a Tracy train being anything under 20 bucks a day to SF.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
First time in SF this week, I've been riding the BART a bunch. Am I missing something? It seems...fine? A bit dirty, a bit pricy, but I just took it to Fremont today no problem. Stops seem well placed. Trains run about as in time as I expect busses to, which is to say no more than ten minutes behind. What don't I see?
 

jwhit28

Member
I can't remember the last time I've seen a positive article about San Francisco. It sounds like the worst, best place to live if you are rich ever.
 

Dalek

Member
First time in SF this week, I've been riding the BART a bunch. Am I missing something? It seems...fine? A bit dirty, a bit pricy, but I just took it to Fremont today no problem. Stops seem well placed. Trains run about as in time as I expect busses to, which is to say no more than ten minutes behind. What don't I see?


I'm assuming you're not riding BART during Rush Hour. Otherwise the rest of the day there's not many people on BART.
 

jerry113

Banned
First time in SF this week, I've been riding the BART a bunch. Am I missing something? It seems...fine? A bit dirty, a bit pricy, but I just took it to Fremont today no problem. Stops seem well placed. Trains run about as in time as I expect busses to, which is to say no more than ten minutes behind. What don't I see?

It's shit tier compared to the options available in other developed first world nations but better than nothing, which is what most of the rest of the country has.
 
Bart people with their Bart faces.

Its the public trans that no one likes but everybody needs/uses.
In the northbay, we just got our first train but its like 15 bucks (one way) to go from the ferry to santa rosa. woof.
 

xfactor99

Member
First time in SF this week, I've been riding the BART a bunch. Am I missing something? It seems...fine? A bit dirty, a bit pricy, but I just took it to Fremont today no problem. Stops seem well placed. Trains run about as in time as I expect busses to, which is to say no more than ten minutes behind. What don't I see?

I think BART is fine if you don't live here or don't use it often. It's when you start to live here that you begin to realize it's many problems. It's a hybrid between a subway and commuter rail and does neither particularly well - there's a million relevant places in SF that BART doesn't even reach. The Geary corridor in SF for example is the densest area in America to not have rail and it takes an asinine hour to get from there to downtown SF which is inexplicable. BART doesn't run past midnight, and is always getting shut down for maintenance. Projects take forever to build (the extension to San Jose has been in the works for over 20 years) and the ones that do get built are of dubious ROI. To top it off the geniuses in charge in the 60's decided to build it using Indian gauge instead of standard gauge, so it is incompatible with all other regional rail systems and costs way more to rebuild and procure new trains.

So yup BART got issues.
 
i was reading about the berryessa project and i found this

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investiga...But-VTA-Says-No-Repairs-Needed-370857631.html

yikes

See, it's been decades of this shit that has caused things to get pushed back and back. BART was supposed to be in the South Bay a long long long time ago. So you have to understand why I won't believe it until I can see it. I was born and raised here so I've heard this for a long time now. It really honestly wouldn't surprise me if something that comes up that shuts down construction so it can be re-evaluated putting the whole thing in limbo.
 

beat

Member
If only the freeways were not always crowded I would avoid taking Bart.
They have places like that! But in places with a lot of people, freeways tend to get crowded. You literally cannot build enough freeways to sustainably ease congestion because traffic expands to the limits of new capacity.
 

Dalek

Member
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...860.php?t=807bb7026d7d4f3860&cmpid=fb-premium


State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, who has relentlessly railed against BART, its labor contracts and financial mismanagement, told The Chronicle Wednesday that he will vote against Measure RR, the $3.5 billion property tax proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot to upgrade the regional rail transit system.

“Despite my strong support for the BART system, I am going to vote no on the bond,” he said. “I don’t think we should reward bad behavior and expect anything to change.”

Glazer’s opposition is bad news for the Yes on RR campaign, since the senator’s district covers most of central and eastern Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley in Alameda County — areas where support for the bond measure is not considered particularly strong.

Nick Josefowitz, a BART director from San Francisco, speaking for the pro-bond campaign, declined to discuss the significance of Glazer’s opposition other than to say the campaign’s efforts were focused on voters rather than politicians.

“We have a really big district at BART, something like 1.8 million voters, and we need to get more votes to win than our U.S. senators need to win their elections. It’s understandable in a district that big that some people will be excited about what we’re doing and some won’t.”

For the measure to pass, BART needs to win support from a two-thirds supermajority of voters in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties combined. The three counties make up the BART district. In 1962, voters in those counties were responsible for passage of the bond measure to build the system.

Glazer’s opposition comes as somewhat of a surprise to bond backers who thought they had persuaded him not to publicly oppose Measure RR.

Glazer has made clear his dissatisfaction with BART management, especially over what he sees as lavish labor contracts.
 
Parking at my apartment is $300 / mo.
Parking near where I used to work was $17 / day
Park on the street for even a few hours in those areas, and your window will be smashed.
Traffic is a nightmare in the city, and I'm used to driving in LA.

I got rid of my car as soon as the lease was up when I moved.

Oh my God

They made owning a car a liability for the working class. Is the city so dense?

Will have to visit soon. I've been to Riverside and LA a couple of times and I got tickets to go to SDCC next year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom