Is it just me or are trains just getting more and more crowded each day? Forget finding a seat, you're lucky if you find a big enough to space to stand in and have a pole to hold on to. I guess it's a good thing that people are turning their backs on cars and adopting mass transit but if this trend continues, I hope BART will increase the # of trains during commute hours even more.
Last fall, I remember that the SFO-bound train from Pittsburgh/Baypoint would have 1 empty seat to 3 standing passengers by the time it arrives in Orinda, leaving at the very least, plenty of places to stand. This fall, by the time the train arrives in Orinda, there are at least 12 standing passengers in each car.
Just an observation. I don't have solid data to back this up and it's really based on my commute hours.
7 comments:
I ride the Baypoint to SFO line starting at somewhere between 7 and 8:30 in the morning (it varies) and I find that most of the time it's full by Walnut Creek. I generally ride mid-train though...
In general, yes, ridership is up. And, the length of each ride is longer. What's happening is that more people are riding from farther out. A lot of the people who live mid-line (like Orinda) are retiring-in-place. They are waiting to sell their house, and move to a retirement home. Meanwhile, nobody takes their place (home), and commutes from their station. The person who replaced them at work now commutes from farther out.
Come to the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station at 4:23am (the 1st Fremont train of the day!). At least 85% of the seats are full with 4 bikes per car! then at MacArthur, 60% get off and transfer to the SF train! I have been riding the 4:23am Richmond-Fremont train for 8 years now. Never have I seen it so crowded! Seems like everyone arrives at once from the VJO Ferry Bus?
> Come to the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station at 4:23am ... At least 85% of the seats are full with 4 bikes per car! ... from the VJO Ferry Bus?
Say, Linton Johnson, are you reading this? All the R line stations are manned at 4 AM, so how about a 4:04 out of Richmond, first thing in the morning? And, on the C line, have a corresponding train go in service at Pleasant Hill at 4:02 AM (again, all station agents are on duty at 4 AM.)
The first trains on both the R line and the C line are packed, having another, 15 minutes earlier, would help. If the track crews are still working, just reverse run these trains. There's no trains going the other way, and commuters are smart.
The Pittsburg/BayPoint area (and a little farther out in the same direction) is growing at a tremendous pace. Everywhere you look, tract after tract of housing is going up. That probably explains why that line is filling up earlier than it used to.
I get the same problem at Fruitvale on the Fremont line. It's frustrating to see a scheduled NINE car train come in every morning with standing passengers. C'mon, BART, at least make it a 10-car train.
Also, I hope BART pro-rates its ticket prices to reflect the fact that passengers who get on in the central part of the system are likely to have to stand. Riders who don't get a seat should not pay the same rate per mile as riders who do get a seat. That's like paying a first-class airfare and then getting stuck in coach.
Thanks for sharing your experiences too. I'm glad it's not just my observation and that people are feeling the crowdedness all around. This morning, it was completely full (standing and seated) after Orinda, so you can imagine the nightmare at Rockridge trying to fit in 14 more people in line. Despite the T.O. yelling "there's another SF bound train just 5 minutes behind", everyone still piled into the already crammed car. I can't blame them. Who wants to wait.
One more thought on this...yes, I agree with anonymous #1. Length of the ride is definitely getting longer little by little. I now get in 2 or 3 minutes later than the projected arrival time. No big deal? Not quite since this shortens my time to get myself to my shuttle pick-up spot. I could use the jog though..sometimes that's the only exercise I get :)
Post a Comment