Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Bart turns 40, Tuesday September 11, 2012


San Francisco Chronicle/ Michael Cabanatuan, 9/10/12. "Bart, at 40, looks to build on triumphs."

"Compared with other Bay Area transportation landmarks celebrating significant birthdays - the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge just turned 75; Muni is soon to become 100 - BART is just a kid. But on Tuesday, Bay Area Rapid Transit will mark the 40th anniversary of its opening.
Beats driving

....  Delaying celebration.  Don't expect a big celebration on Tuesday, though. Sept. 11 - the day BART began running trains between Fremont and Oakland in 1972 - has since become a much more somber day of remembrance, so the transit agency has put off its party plans for a little more than a week.

....  Booming ridership.  In the four decades since it opened, BART has expanded: to Pittsburg/Bay Point, Dublin/Pleasanton, and  Millbrae and San Francisco International Airport.  Extensions to Warm  Springs in Fremont and east San Jose are under construction, and a Livermore extension is being discussed.                 
 
....  BART's ridership has also boomed, from about 15,000 trips per weekday in its first year of service to 384,000 trips per weekday last month, the busiest in BART's history.
 
 ....  As BART zips past 40, it faces a number of challenges. Modernizing and maintaining the system is critical, Rentschler said. After years of searching for funding, the transit agency is buying a new fleet of trains. But the agency also needs to replace its automated train-control system and make improvements to increase the capacity of the original 72-mile "core" of the system. Because of its design, the system is unable to run express trains or late-night service, and broken-down trains often cause delays."   Read Article. 
 
Posted by Kathy Meeh 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank You SF Bart. I enjoy your service and appreciate you being there. Except, lately , with more homeless, than I have ever seen before in my lifetime, they seem to think they can use SF BART as their toilets. Other than that, I am very satisfied with the service.