Sunday, September 27, 2009

NEW POLL: BART..and you're there??

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.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Suspicious carry-on on BART? No problem!!

Interesting observation this morning. A man was carrying a beat up pink paper box, one of those pink boxes you get from bakeries or donut shops. This pink box was a bit ripper up, and it had duct tape all over. It also appeared to be heavier than just donuts or a cake as the man carrying it looked like he was balancing a hefty weight as he walked out of the train and up the escalators.

I know the box could be carrying a host of things, and most likely very harmless items! But, it did look a bit suspicious with the excessive amount of duct tape wrapped around the box, in all direction, and the heavily taped corners. I didn't immediately jump to the worst conclusion but I did pause for a moment to examine the box.

I saw BART police officers straight ahead. The man with the pink box walked right past them, and the officers didn't even look twice.

Obviously nothing happened with the box, otherwise, we would have heard by now, but still, as an officer, I would have at least looked carefully for a second at this out-of-ordinary carry on.

I didn't think this was a huge concern but the box did raise some eyebrows. Just glad it's nothing bad-- maybe the man was just carrying books in the box??

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Bridge opens on time unexpectedly

I guess my earlier post makes no sense now. Passengers still found trains to be overcrowded, although that could just be the result of the post-Labor Day weekend normalcy marking the official end of lower ridership due to summer.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Brace yourselves

You've heard by now that the Bay Bridge will not reopen until Wednesday at 5am due to a cracked steel link. What does this mean for BART commuters? No parking spaces, longer lines getting onto trains, jam-packed cars and more probable delays due to sudden increase in ridership. BART will be running longer trains so forget the "favorite" train habit and walk all the way down to the end of start of the train if you want to be able to breath!

Bay Bridge crosses 260,000 vehicles a day. With a sudden extended shutdown, I'm guessing tomorrow will be a bit chaotic. Friday was to problem at all since most people worked from home or took the day off. Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be a different story.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Sighting of the day

I saw a car with a green bumper sticker with white font that said, "My son just beat up your honor student."

I know people joke about those honor student bumper stickers but to actually display a bumper sticker that denotes violence...hmmm, not sure if it's just humor or if it's just plain inappropriate. I tend to think the latter.