Have you guys seen this commercials? They're hard to miss-- they're everywhere! While I think it's great that BART is encouraging non-commute use, part of me can't help but chuckle when I see those ads. Seriously though, it is very convenient to take BART from the East Bay to some places in the city but to other destinations in SF, the total cost and time each way exceeds what a drive would entail, not to mention the hassle of having no space for yourself and your things.
So, the question is...when heading to the city on weekends, is BART your first choice in transportation?
My answer is "only on a few occasions." Most of the time we choose to drive because it is just easier with a baby and all the accompanying items. We've taken BART with the baby before, and it was fine, but the long gap in train schedules, the broken elevators, the crowded conditions and the connecting bus rides once we arrive, just make the process more difficult. Timing our drive across the bridge before the peak makes driving a heck of a lot easier than taking BART.
7 comments:
Guess what kind of people respond to shitty trolls.
I work for BART and on weekends, I drive. It is to much of a hassle to take public transportation, if you are going deep into the city.
I can get almost anywhere I want to in the city within about an hour of leaving my residence in Albany by using a combination of BART and MUNI. Driving to the same destinations has often been a major headache those times I have tried, mainly because of the high traffic density and difficulty in finding affordable parking. For me, it is almost too much of a hassle NOT to take public transit.
Nice blog, by the way!
I haven't driven to SF in over five years. I always take BART and Muni. It's a hassle to drive. I appreciate it is difficult to use transit with very young children but having a car in SF is just a pain.
Erik should be banned.
Having spent my last couple airline flights with one or more screaming babies/toddlers in close proximity, I view your taking a car as being considerate of your fellow BART pax. Of course, I've seen plenty of well-behaved babies on BART (and AC Transit, for that matter)--in fact, most seem to love the train or bus. That said, driving is a nice option both for those for whom it could be more convenient, and for those whose offspring might not be fully ready to behave in public.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this BART ad campaign was an image of Oscar Grant with the slightly modified byline, "BART...and you're dead."
http://blog.hellasolutions.com/2010/02/new-culture-jamming-image/
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