Comments on Jenn's review of BART
Description: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Richmond Line, Colma Line, Fremont Line, and Dublin / Pleasanton Line.
Despite the shortcomings...
Public transportation is important to a large metropolitan area. BART meets a lot of people's needs on a regular basis. It has shortcomings: the tickets aren't cheap, the trains aren't clean and they stop running at midnight. This makes it difficult for me to encourage my car-free friends in San Francisco to visit me and I have to drive in for late evenings.
There are many criticisms one can levy against the BART system -- the trains are often dirty, they are crowded during rush hour, don't go fast enough and the scheduling is mystifying.
Some friends who claim that taking BART is "more expensive" than driving -- driving from Oakland to Pleasanton every day, solo, isn't really better (seriously - who wants to get stuck in that traffic?). Though I do prefer AC Transit and can understand the need to occasionally go by private car, I maintain riding on BART is way better for the planet - even if it takes longer and costs more than what you'd pay for gas for a trip of the same distance.
Most people don't factor in the total cost of driving -- insurance, maintenance, parts, parking, tickets - according to a AAA study, when you factor in all the other costs of owning a car, the total is about four times as much as public transportation. The study said that operating a new vehicle costs 52.5 cents per mile.
Try this great cost of commute calculator: http://rideshare.511.org/calculator/
Public transportation allows you to relax, read or catch up on things that you would otherwise not be able to do while driving. It's a way of ensuring a certain amount of "me" time -- and it's a great way to keep that "To Read" book pile from getting too big.
Remember that you have the right to a clean and safe ride. Note that the car numbers are inside and outside the car and make a habit to report any problems whether it is cleanliness or rude drunk people or a person who passed out after smoking crack.
Jenn's keywords: public transportation, trains, BART, bay area rapid transit
1 of 1 people thought this review was helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
