Oakland, CA > Our Planet > Transportation
BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Richmond Line, Colma Line, Fremont Line, and Dublin / Pleasanton Line.
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Oakland, CA 94604
510-465-2278
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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
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Better than nothing?
As someone who would always rather ride than drive, I take BART whenever possible. This system is so bad I can barely call it public transportation.
Tickets are priced so high that it's still cheaper to drive sometimes, even with a $4 bridge toll. Parking is totally unavailable during the day at any of the East bay stations I use, and now there's a fee tacked on as well.
Trains are usually on time, which is good, because they don't run very often. Service stops around midnight, but check the schedule for your station very carefully if you don't want to get stuck.
I have no idea what BART's operational goal is, but it's not to get people out of their cars.
Eliza's keywords: public transportation, BART
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convenient, for the most part.
I ride BART every weekday to work from Castro Valley to Powell Street in San Francisco. First of all, the difference between driving and BARTing this route makes my life 100% easier.
BART runs on electric lines, so it's not directly polluting, though the creation of that electricity has to come from somewhere. I wonder often how feasible it would be to power BART using solar panels/batteries. I also wonder about using magnets to make a train run...
The Dublin train only comes every 15 minutes and during commute hours trains are very full from start station to end station both ways. I would love more trains and more parking - more parking = more people riding. I have to get to CV lot before 7:45 AM to get a spot, and that's not the worst lot out there. There's also the general complaints: dirty trains, service ends at midnight. As a commute user, midnight doesn't affect me as much. They're installing a new kind of floor, which I think will help with cleanliness.
Valerie's keywords: public transportation, bay area public transit, light rail
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we take BART for granted
You know, BART's pretty green when you think about it -- but it's even moreover economical. Just the fact SF tied for 4th in the nation for regional public transportation ridership, with only NY, Chicago, and Boston ahead of it, is fairly telling! Their Bike to Work days and Spare the Air days are easily taken for granted. I wonder how many cars they keep off the road? I wonder to what degree they increase walkability and rapid transport? It's about time we started celebrating BART for its accomplishments rather than whining every time something goes wrong or something goes up in price. I can say for myself that with BART I'm to work in less than 20 minutes, having gone 2.3 miles, and it's completely safe and for a $1.40. Compare that with traffic congestion, the danger of driving, vehicle insurance, and the cost of having a decent vehicle -- which would probably cost more like $3.75, without even factoring in the risk. Not bad.
Abendigo's keywords: BART, bay area, transit, green, walkability
1 of 1 people thought this review was helpful.
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stops at midnight... need i say more?
i am a huge advocate of public transportation,and i understand the importance of making the system efficient and profitable, but BART needs to rethink the way it runs its system. the trains are nice, the stations are nice, and its a cozy ride. its mostly on time barring any major computer problem or incident. for the most part, its pretty great. my major issues are cost and closing time. i am one of few people who regularly make my way across the pond to visit friends and family, but its painful to pay $4+ one way to do this. on the other side of that, i frequently have friends coming to visit me in SF, but i know there's a hard cut off time so they don't miss the last train. how are people supposed to be dependent on public transportation if they're left stranded on either side of the bay? also, weekends and evenings, the trains are few and far between. if they give people easy access, cheap rides and day/night long trains, maybe we can get more people out of their cars.
Louda's keywords: bart, train, trains, public transportation, subway, alternative transportation
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I Heart BART
To paraphrase John H, " I don't own a car and won't buy one unless it is a plug-in." Except, I wouldn't buy one even if it *were* a PHEV. A car is a car: they take up valuable land space, cost too much to make and buy and insure and maintain, they hit little old ladies and schoolkids, killing them; they isolate us from our communities (did you see the L.A. movie "Crash"?)...
Okay, on to positives! I first took BART systematically as a student, commuting 70 miles a day to go to math class at 8a.m. in the morning... and the only way I could have done that is by taking the train. Now as a worker bee I take BART from Oakland to SF. It's a joy to read/relax. Okay, it could be *much* better, as in, going over the Bay Bridge like the Key Route rail system used to, ferrying people from the east bay to SF. Sadly those days are long gone. BART is the next best thing. BART has recently begun using less renewable energy sources; it could do better by having express trains and free fares!
Ken's keywords: bart, transit, train, bay, area, rapid, yum
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No car BART commute -excellent value
I don't own a car and won't buy one unless it is a plug-in. I ride the Bart almost everywhere I need to go and it is comfortable, on time, relatively non-polluting, social, and well run and maintained. It is an excellent system and value.
John's keywords: Bart, car, fuel-efficient
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