SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News - Page 81

Pedestrian · #**1601** Posted **May 9, 2017, 11:10 PM**

Quote:

Dublin family seeks $3 million over BART teen mob robbery
By Michael Bodley, San Francisco ChronicleMay 8, 2017 Updated: May 8, 2017 7:47pm

Three members of a Dublin family who say they were accosted and robbed by a mob of teenagers at BART’s Coliseum Station last month filed legal claims against the transit agency Monday seeking $3 million in damages, alleging that proper security could have prevented the attack.

The claims, precursors to lawsuits, were filed by attorney Paul Justi on behalf of Rusty and Patricia Stapp and their 18-year-old daughter, Amanda. They cited 11 allegations, including that lax security allowed the suspects to easily vault the fare gates and that BART fails to coordinate with other police agencies . . . .

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/a...5.php#comments

Excellent news IMHO.

Normally I would oppose lwsuits against public agencies for non-economic damages because they do nothing to punish the actual wrong-doers and often merely take money out of the pocket of the public agency that it could use to fix the alleged problem.

But in this case BART needs a change of attitude. For years they've been criticized over things like cameras on trains that everybody knew were dummies but nobody could explain why there weren't real cameras. Now we have a situation of egregious misbehavior on BART property not by an individual or several but by a mob . . . and no response by BART staff at all. In fact, it is now being reported that there is a state law that juveniles who jump turnstiles CANNOT be charged with fare evasion or anything else. There is no penalty if you are under 18 at all. Apparently it would be possible to enact some form of administrative fine that does not result in any kind of criminal record for such people but niether BART nor the counties in which it operates have enacted anything like that . . . BECAUSE THERE'S LITTLE EVIDENCE THEY CARE about passenger safety or welfare. Time to make 'em care by whatever means necessary.

Pedestrian · #**1602** Posted **May 17, 2017, 11:10 PM**

Quote:

Senator Dianne Feinstein took another step yesterday to push the Trump Administration to sign off on federal funding for Caltrain’s beleaguered electrification plans. “I intend to oppose confirmation for every Transportation Department nominee until the Trump administration releases funding for the Caltrain Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project,” said the Senator in a press release.

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2017/05/16...ectrification/

botoxic · #**1603** Posted **May 22, 2017, 7:38 PM**

Caltrain electrification project back on track with federal funding

Quote:

Caltrain will receive the $647 million in federal funding it needs to help electrify and modernize the Peninsula’s commuter railroad, federal transportation officials announced Monday.

A spokeswoman for the agency said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao will sign a previously arranged grant agreement that will give Caltrain the federal money over the next five years. The funds cover roughly a third of the $1.98 billion project with the rest of the money coming from state and local funds.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...k-11164688.php

ChargerCarl · #**1604** Posted **May 22, 2017, 7:46 PM**

What a pointless waste of time.

Pedestrian · #**1605** Posted **May 22, 2017, 8:25 PM**

of course.

OhioGuy · #**1606** Posted **May 23, 2017, 12:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

What a pointless waste of time.

Electrifying a heavily used commuter rail line is a pointless waste of time?

Or the delay by the US DoT was a pointless waste of time?

Busy Bee · #**1607** Posted **May 23, 2017, 1:29 AM**

^Really?

pizzaguy · #**1608** Posted **May 23, 2017, 1:47 AM**

The GOP is a pointless waste of time.

ChargerCarl · #**1609** Posted **May 23, 2017, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

Electrifying a heavily used commuter rail line is a pointless waste of time?

Or the delay by the US DoT was a pointless waste of time?

Use your best judgement.

electricron · #**1610** Posted **May 23, 2017, 4:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Use your best judgement.

That's why there was a review with a change in administrations. Even with a change from within the same political party there could have been a review.

Having a review isn't new with changing administrations, what is new about it is having the media print that it is news!

Pedestrian · #**1611** Posted **May 23, 2017, 6:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

Electrifying a heavily used commuter rail line is a pointless waste of time?

Or the delay by the US DoT was a pointless waste of time?

I believe he meant--and I agreed with--the DELAY caused by the transient witholding of promised federal funds for this project is "a pointless waste of time", not the project itself. If he mean the project, I certainly don't agree. The project is vital to the Bay Area.

TWAK · #**1612** Posted **May 23, 2017, 7:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I believe he meant--and I agreed with--the DELAY caused by the transient witholding of promised federal funds for this project is "a pointless waste of time", not the project itself. If he mean the project, I certainly don't agree. The project is vital to the Bay Area.

He does not like CALHSR, so I suspect that he also does not like the RAIL ROW (Caltrain in the name is the issue, i think) electrification. It's obviously a benefit to all entities that use the railroad up into the city. Like freight.....

Pedestrian · #**1613** Posted **May 23, 2017, 7:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by electricron

That's why there was a review with a change in administrations. Even with a change from within the same political party there could have been a review.

Having a review isn't new with changing administrations, what is new about it is having the media print that it is news!

This money wasn't withheld because of a review. It was withheld because all California Republican Congressmen wrote the new Secretary of Transportation (Elaine Chow) asking her to withhold it as a tactic to try to block the California High Speed Rail project. Electrification of the CalTrain tracks between San Francisco and San Jose is an essential part of California HSR because HSR will use those tracks over that part of the route (dedicated parallel tracks within the right of way for HSR havng been effectively blocked by lawsuits). It is also necessary, by itself, for CalTrain commuter rail to be able to use a planned tunnel into San Francisco's new multi-billion $ downtown transit terminal.

Subsequently, a large number of Silicon Valley executives, business and finance leaders wrote Chow asking the funds be restored and California's 2 Senators said they would block confirmation of all new Transportation Dept. appointees until the funds were released. They have been released. In no way was this business as usual, even for a new administration.

northbay · #**1614** Posted **May 23, 2017, 7:56 PM**

Jerry Brown also wrote asking for federal support of CAHSR, not sure if that had anything to do with it though.

Pedestrian · #**1615** Posted **May 29, 2017, 6:57 PM**

Quote:

BART station store plan goes bust: Now everyone’s in court
By Matier & Ross
May 29, 2017

A plan to open up BART stations to everything from Dunkin’ Donuts to Ghirardelli Chocolate outlets has gone off the rails, with the firm that was behind the idea now suing the transit agency for alleged breach of contract and claiming tens of millions in damages . . . .

It all started back in 2008 when BART received an unsolicited bid from San Francisco housing developer Alexis Wong, whose political connections had landed her appointments to various state boards and commissions over the years. She told BART she could fill the stations with businesses, creating boatloads of cash for the agency.

TransMart, the company Wong formed to undertake the effort, landed the deal on an 8-1 vote of the BART Board of Directors in 2011. Three years later, about the only thing the firm had to show for its efforts were a couple of pop-up Blinq stores at the Embarcadero and Montgomery stations. The stores — aimed mostly at promoting Wong’s online business, selling everything from clothing to electronics — have since closed.

BART eventually let TransMart’s contract expire, saying the firm had failed to meet a deadline to deliver at least nine retail stores to stations by August 2016 . . . .

Now TransMart has sued in Alameda County Superior Court, claiming BART failed to act in good faith on a deal that Wong’s lawyers say was worth as much as $95 million to the company . . . .

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/a...w-11177253.php

ozone · #**1616** Posted **Jun 28, 2017, 8:20 PM**

BART is a joke. They have to have the filthiest stations and trains I've even seen. And I've been on the NYC subway during the late 70s-early 80s. Looks like there's almost no maintenance and security. It's really sad to see the system deteriorate as it has. All the more galling because the city has become wealthier as the system has become worst. It's an embarrassment for San Francisco.

I would not be surprised if part of the problem is massive corruption. Maybe retail space would help but it looks like the those trying to make that happen are just a corrupt. Maybe not though. Article didn't go into detail about the suit.

Pedestrian · #**1617** Posted **Jun 28, 2017, 8:45 PM**

^^The stations are not well-maintained and the security is very poor, but even so they have a century of grime yet to accumulate to be dirty like New York or Chicago subways are dirty (did you see the A-train in NY stopped the other day and derailed by equipment left on the tracks but which incident also involved a fire in some trash between the tracks also according to one report I read?). Since I will agree the management in NY is better, by the time BART is as old as the NY Subway it will probably be in worse shape if it's still running. But that's a long way off.

Have you been following the DC metro, a system of about the same age? It has serious problems as well; maybe worse than BART. These systems just need TLC at the age they are and that will take funding. IMHO part of BART's problems is that the political managemet (BART Board) has caved in to the system's unions much too much and that has diverted funds that should have gone to maintenance and equipment replacement into personnel costs. Now we are in a pickle because they may hav rised fares to the point that further increases will decrease ridership and the BART region already has a very high sales tax rate (including the 0.5% for BART). So where can they get more money and if they do, can they keep from handing it out to employees in raises yet again and spend it on fixing the system?

ChargerCarl · #**1618** Posted **Jun 29, 2017, 12:24 AM**

BART just seems overstretched. It has too low ridership per km of track, which makes it very difficult for it to fund its maintenance.

Them extending it to SJ just seems nuts to me. They need to focus on core urban service upgrades instead of of acting like an expensive commuter rail services to auto-sprawl suburbs who refuse to densify.

Pedestrian · #**1619** Posted **Jun 29, 2017, 2:15 AM**

^^You've said that before. BART is at maximum ridership it can accommodate, at least on the prime transbay runs (not true of runs entirely within the East Bay such as Fremont to Richmond or Pleasanton to Concord because not so many people want to do that). It either needs another transbay tube or a much more efficient computer system allowing trains to be closer together going through the existing tube. It also needs more rolling stock which it is getting. But the trains it has crossing the Bay are packed--at rush hour, it's like Tokyo (they need "pushers" to cram more people in--the new rolling stock will have fewer seats to get more people into the cars even though fewer will be able to sit).

In the suburbs the problem is the parking lots which in some cases fill up by 5 AM. The structures need to be bigger or the bus systems bringing people to the stations need to be more extensive and efficient so people don't have to drive to the station.

But like I said above, I think they are also pricing the tickets near the limit at what the public will accept. More fare increases may lose them customers--it's hard to say.

As for "core urban services", if they had or could get the money, everybody would love a "Geary Line" (downtown/Market St to the ocean under Geary Blvd) but we'll never see it. Muni is more likely to build such a line than BART. BART effectively IS commuter rail, not intracity rail.

CharlesCO · #**1620** Posted **Jun 29, 2017, 10:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

In the suburbs the problem is the parking lots which in some cases fill up by 5 AM. The structures need to be bigger or the bus systems bringing people to the stations need to be more extensive and efficient so people don't have to drive to the station.

But like I said above, I think they are also pricing the tickets near the limit at what the public will accept. More fare increases may lose them customers--it's hard to say.

As for "core urban services", if they had or could get the money, everybody would love a "Geary Line" (downtown/Market St to the ocean under Geary Blvd) but we'll never see it. Muni is more likely to build such a line than BART. BART effectively IS commuter rail, not intracity rail.

But as BART's studies have concluded, building more parking is not a solution. Or at least, not a cost effective one. BART has made it pretty clear that they would much rather see more riders arrive at stations by walking or by bus.

Ticket prices I'm pretty sure are pegged by inflation and are scheduled every two years. They increase again on January 1, though I see they're also adding surcharges to paper tickets and monkeying around with the discounted tickets slightly in order to boost revenue. But the fare increases are usually pretty much on par with those of Muni's. The minimum fare for the shortest BART trips is usually a little bit less than a Muni one way fare.

As for the overcrowding in the core system, hopefully the bigger fleet and an eventual upgraded computer system will make all the difference. Right now most of the afternoon trains are standing room only from the Mission stations to Concord or beyond.