With a Bay Area Rapid Transit strike possible as soon as Monday, commuters could be left scrambling to find a way to work.
Transit officials are urging anyone who can to telecommute, ride a bike, or shift work schedules to off-commute hours.
BART’s strike information page indicates that a small amount of charter bus service will be covering regular routes. But with a capacity of 2,000-4,000 it will only handle a small fraction of the regular 400,000 per day ridership.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is also suggesting that riders take advantage of free parking at any BART station or Park & Ride lot for carpooling purposes. 511.org offers a map of casual carpool pickup locations. KPIX 5′s Sue Kwon also profiled a new app – known as Avego – which links commuters with available seats at a low price.
For those who need to find an alternate public transit option, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is working to ramp up service on other systems, and updates will be made available on 511.org. Few specifics have yet been released by the MTC. However, individual agencies have posted information on their websites.
AC Transit: Bus Service Between East Bay And San Francisco
The biggest wildcard facing riders in the event of a BART Strike is ongoing labor negotiations at AC Transit. Operators of the East Bay system are also set to see existing contracts expire on July 1st. If operators do not go on strike, AC Transit officials say there is available capacity on existing bus routes to and From San Francisco from the East Bay, and additional trans-bay service will likely be added. More information on AC Transit’s BART strike plan can be found on the system’s website.
Golden Gate Transit: Accessing San Francisco from the East Bay via Marin County
The Golden Gate Bridge District has said that North Bay ferries are already operating at capacity, and that they should not be used as a BART alternative for people traveling from the East Bay to San Francisco and vice versa. Instead, officials urge anyone taking transportation through Marin county to consider bus service due to already heavy traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. For more information on bus routes, visit the Golden Gate Transit information page regarding the strike.
Caltrain and SamTrans: Peninsula Alternatives To BART
Officials are warning riders to expect delays on Caltrain due to a jump in ridership and say equipment and personnel constraints will likely prevent much in the way of additional service. SamTrans plans offer temporary shuttle service in several locations around regular BART stops. Click here to see the current BART strike alternate plans for Caltrain and SamTrans.
SF Muni: San Francisco bus and light rail service
The Municipal Transit Agency is referring riders to 511.org for complete information, but has indicated that routes along the BART corridor will be prioritized during a stoppage, including the 14 Mission, 49 Van Ness, J-Church and N-Judah lines. The system will also deploy fare inspectors to help regular BART commuters find their way via Muni.
San Francisco Bay Ferry: San Francisco Bay Ferries are expected to add additional boats, potentially doubling capacity, servicing Oakland, San Francisco, Alameda, Alameda Harbor Bay and Vallejo. More information will be made available on the system’s website. The City of Alameda says service will be offered directly from Alameda to San Francisco, without stopping in Oakland. Main Street departures will take place every 45 minuets, while Harbor Bay boats will leave every 30 minutes.
VTA: South Bay Transit Options
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation authority has not released a contingency plan on the website, instead referring riders to 511.org for additional details on transit options.
County Connection & WestCAT: CoCo County Alternatives
Contra Costa bus services have said they will set up temporary bus stations outside the regular BART Stations in the event of a strike. The maps for County Connection will be made available here. WestCat will make their map available here. WestCat’s website also indicates that additional service to San Francisco will be added.
Capitol Corridor Bus Service: East Bay Train Commuting
System administrators anticipate higher ridership and limited availability to increase service due to equipment limitations. More information on how the commute will impact the Capitol Corridor ride can be found at this link.
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