Have your ticket handy! Is that too much to ask?

I'd like to think of myself as a pretty understanding and patient person but at the same time, I am fairly efficient when it comes down to my daily commute routine. For example, I know where to park (1st to 3rd choice of area) in the BART lot, I know the shortest way from lot to ticket turnstile, I know which train to enter into and exit out of, and I always have my ticket handy or at the very least know where exactly it is. Of course this routine is established after years of riding BART, but even as a new rider way WAY back in my college days, I clearly recall always having my ticket in hand or very close within access in a pocket or purse. I don't think I've ever taken more than 3 seconds to pass through the BART ticket gates...usually it takes me 1 second. Even in a foreign country's public transit system, I go out of my way to go with the flow and not ever slow things down.

Now...the point of my story today! I just don't know how some passengers can take so long digging for their tickets and block the ticket gate while they aimlessly search for each pocket and bag. I mean, you know you're about to cross the turnstile...it's no surprise, so why not have your ticket ready?

Saw a woman who has a roller business suitcase stood in front of the gate for at least 45 seconds trying to find her ticket. Finally, she noticed she was blocking the gate and stepped aside to continue feeling her pockets. Later, I saw a group of 6 teenagers, blocking 3 ticket gates, and none of them had a ticket handy! The girls were searching their purses and laughing, joking around with each other! Commuters started to line-up behind them. Finally, one commuter asked if they can step aside so others can get through. I was lining up to redeem my commuter checks so I had plenty of time to observe! Later, I saw two men, who looked like regular transit riders, who were deeply in chat as they walked towards the ticket turnstiles. As they approached the turnstiles, they remained talking! Neither could pull out their tickets and walk through while continuing their conversation. Both literally stood in front of the turnstiles, searched their pockets and then their suitcase for their BART tickets while they continued talking!

I guess there are all types of people out there! 99% of us are quite efficient! It was just bizarre to see so many that were inefficient and inconsiderate today! They can take all the time they want finding their tickets if they aren't blocking the turnstiles and sort of move their belongs and their bodies out of the way. But to block the flow of passengers going in and out of the station is just a bit lame!!! Funny.

Fremont on time starting today? For real?

A BARTMusings reader and Fremont line commuter notified me today that there will be full automatic movement between South Hayward and Fremont beginning Saturday, 7/12! That would be great news for many commuters. Is it really happening? Please keep the rest of us posted. This has been a hot topic and sore experience for many!

A "greener" BART

Just read about BART's plans to go solar; supporting lighting, ticket machines, gates, elevators with sun power. Orinda has been tapped as the pilot station to go solar by end of year!

Props to BART for this pilot program! Every effort counts. Hey, if we can't get cleaner trains, at least we can get 'greener' stations! If you're interested in reading more, take a look here: http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2008/news20080710.aspx

A rider helping other riders

Got an email today from a very helpful and resourceful BART commuter (thanks, R.J.) who wanted to share with everyone a new way to find out up to the minute BART delays and elevator operations status.

He set up the SMS capabilities below for those who don't have web access on their mobile phones. Once you sign up, you now can get a text message regarding real time delays and elevator status.

Service advisories by SMS
http://www.textmarks.com/BARTSTATUS

Elevator status by SMS
http://www.textmarks.com/BARTELEV


For those of us who do have web access on our mobiles, you might already know that BART currently offers this service for us to find out schedules and delays:

Service advisories by email
http://bart.gov/news/alerts/index.aspx

BART popularity soars!

Did you know that BART-SFO ridership increased by 65% since launch? Very good news, impressive, and I predict it will continue to soar. I've written many times about the convenience of this route and how I personally depend on it, especially since I no longer need to transfer at Balboa. Riding BART to SFO sure beats driving across the Bay Bridge and 101 traffic to the airport, finding long term parking, waiting for one of those shuttles to come around, and finally, waiting for passengers to be dropped off by the shuttle one terminal by terminal. However, one down side to this BART-SFO popularity which we've discussed before too....the growing number of luggage pieces taking up seats and excessive amount of standing room space and more BART newbies who do not know the basic BART etiquette. I get dirty looks when I nicely ask them to remove their suitcases from the seats but oh well, they need to learn! As BART gets ever more crowded these days, we all need to learn the etiquette and co-exist.

A few other interesting stats I pulled off the BART website...check them out. Want to point out the last one in particular: 1 out of 3 Contra Costa County commuters traveling to Oakland and San Francisco who chose BART. That's a very impressive stat right there!

1.3 billion
Number of passenger miles traveled on BART every year

$400 million
Amount of money BART riders spend in a year at San Francisco retailers

100 million
Number of people riding BART every year

400,000
Metric tons of CO2 BART riders save annually

360,000
Average number of BART riders on a weekday

202,000
Gallons of gas saved by BART riders every day

50%
Percentage of peak period/peak direction commute traffic BART carries across the Bay

44
Pounds of pollutants a day saved by each BART rider

1 in 3
Number of Contra Costa County commuters traveling to Oakland and San Francisco who chose BART

The Day After...

Going back to work after an extended weekend or vacation is never fun. While technically we should all feel more well rested and recharged, I think many of us cannot easily let go of the sad end to our worry-free and deadline-free days. On BART today, I felt miserable and tired. After going through my morning emails, I just zoned out and stared blankly at billboards.

Meaningless thoughts such as the below passed through my head.
"Oh, that movie is coming out, cool!"
"Geez, that's an old ad, can't BART get new advertisers?"
"Urgh, like I would ever go see that?"

Then, I saw a McDonald's billboard with a double cheeseburger and "100% BEEF" emblazoned across it. Why be so proud it's 100% beef? Wasn't it 100% beef before? I knew it wasn't 100% quality beef parts but I thought at the very least it all came from a cow? Why such a big billboard advertising the fact that cheeseburger's a McD's are now 100%? Very disturbing!

Yes, meaningless thoughts but they got me through the commute (still puzzled and grossed out by the 100% beef ad). I'll need today to readjust my attitude and get back into the swing of work again!

Oh by the way...I missed a huge milestone last week. I posted my 400th entry on BARTMusings! Thank you, everyone, for all your comments, ideas, criticisms, support, suggestions, and time!! I enjoy writing about my musings because you make it fun for me!

THANK YOU!

2 unrelated thoughts for the 1st of July

July already! This year has really flown by. 2 totally separate thoughts to share on this day.

First, nice new website BART has! More on par with web standards these days. I just used it and liked it. Found it much easier to browse and search. Looks good, BART!

The second thought is a bit more serious. As the hands-free rule go into effect in California, I can't help but wonder if that also applies to train operators? A nice reader shared with me his recent observation of a train operator who was chatting up with a friend on her cellphone. According to this reader, she was on her cellphone the entire time except as she approaches each station (thank goodness she does this at least) then she'd put her phone down, but as soon as the door opens, she's immediately back on it. This reader has seen this particular train operator do this regularly. I've actually seen similar action myself several times. Once, a passenger tried to call the T.O. but she didn't even pick-up....too busy on her cell? I hope not.

Is constant cellphone use allowed for train operators? Is it safe? I can't imagine so. Seems like as all drivers in CA can no longer hold a cellphone while driving starting today, same should apply for transit operators that carry numerous passengers each trip! But then, is hands-free even safer for a BART train operator? Seems like there shouldn't be ANY cellphone chatting, but then again, I don't know exactly how manual or automatic the system is. How much human decision and physical maneuvering is really needed?

Think Bay Area traffic is bad?

Since 93, I've been mostly living in the Bay Area. I'm originally from LA. LA's traffic has always been poor but the past 5 years, I've noticed, each time I visit, that it has been getting worse and completely unavoidable, even at off or odd hours. This past weekend, we visited family in LA again, and it did not matter we were driving at 12pm, 3pm, 9pm, 11pm, or even 1am, we ran into tight congestion on one freeway or another!!!

Bay Area traffic is tight and often poor during commute hours but aside from the more eventful days in the city, traffic is generally tolerable during non-commute hours and when we do run into a jam, it has an "end", unlike in LA, it is just a continuous jam and you are practically moving at 3-5 mph the entire way through.

I read an article recently in LA Times that LA's public transit rail system, Metrolink, is finally gaining ridership due to gas prices and has reached records in June. Good! Glad to finally see people staring to take Metrolink!! Perhaps this will help ease the congestion a tad bit!

Once we got back to the Bay Area, we let out a huge sigh of relief. Traffic here is still much more tolerable then LA where pretty much everywhere we headed, no matter at what hour, we ran into congestion. It was quite a pleasure hitting 24 yesterday en route home.....every so often, we just need a little reminder that we have it pretty darn good here in the Bay Area. But honestly, give me 2 days of driving up here, I'll probably forget all about this bubble of appreciation that I have after a particularly bad weekend of driving in LA.

And BART, as well as CalTrain, ACE, Muni, and all the transit options we have up here, make it a bit more pleasant for us!

What a good kid!

Every so often, you see something that you just don't see enough, but it gives you hope that there is still good out there. Too often you see people in the disabled seats, pretending to be asleep, pretending to be completely engrossed in their Blackberry or Treo, or pretending to have a magazine that just happens to block their view, while a frail elderly woman is having a tough time balancing as the train moves.

I saw a kid in the disabled seat, probably high school age, with a loud iPod blasting, wearing clothes so baggy it's practically slipping off his body. I was too quick to judge. I saw a shaky, frail elderly man walk in, in need of a seat. I didn't think the kid would react and assumed that he would just continue to listen to his music without a care in the world. It's a scene I've seen too many times.

But I was wrong. This kid immediately got up. Not only did he offer his seat, he helped the old man into the seat, and helped position the old man's bags next to his legs. He was polite and genuinely caring.

It was really nice to see. I guess too often I've seen the opposite and I've sort of lost "hope". I get up for anyone who appears to need a seat, or on a few occasions, when I have no seat to give, I help someone find a seat. Probably fewer than 25% of passengers do that, sometimes it seems to be more like 10% of passengers. With the younger generation, I seldom see them do the "right" thing. But I was very happy to be wrong this time. There are still good and responsible kids out there who aren't selfish and genuinely care for the well being of others.

It was great to see!

A message for BART employees who read this blog

I've had the urge to write this post for quite some time, mostly fueled by the growing list rude comments left by BART employees in response to passengers' thoughts.

BART employees, the fact is, we all ride BART because we believe in the system, at least that's the case for me. I think it is a valuable service and Bay Area commuters are quite fortunate to have this option, especially these days with gas prices. In fact, if you somehow could survey my out of town acquaintances, most of them would tell you that my overall impression of BART is quite positive. If you've followed this blog for some time, you'd know that I've complimented SFO route plenty of times!

That said, PLEASE don't take it so personally and get so defensive when passengers say that the system does need some improvements. We, the passengers, pay pretty handsomely daily to ride the system, and we are entitled to complain when there is reason to complain.

Of course blatantly rude bashing is not constructive (although in their defense, these guys have the right to complain too), but over 90% of the comments on BARTMusings actually contain reasonable and thoughtful suggestions for improvements!!

If you just take a step back, read and consider what we have to say, it's not all that out of line. Many of us have traveled often and abroad and know the strengths and weaknesses of a system. Constructive criticisms and suggests are shared by commenters all the time on BARTMusings....I've even dedicated at least 8-10 entries just on realistic ways to improve BART.

So, please don't be so rude and leave comments like:

Passengers don't know what they're talking about, you're always wrong....
Whatever, you say what you want to say, just keep paying my paychecks....
If you don't want to ride BART, ride the bus...
You think we have nothing better to do?
You're lucky we haven't hiked up fares even more.....

BARTMusings is a forum for everyone, from riders, non-riders, first-timers, to employees, to share their thoughts and observations regarding BART. Many have said that whenever they leave a comment on bart.gov, the comment is not acknowledged. So, they need a website like this to voice their opinions. And I'm pleased to say that most commenters on BARTMusings leave well thought-out, constructive comments, instead of just plainly bad-mouth the system in foul language.

So, BART employees, just know that we ride because we believe in the system but we also want to see certain improvements made after more than 25 years in operation. It's nothing personal. We pay $6 - $12.50 a day to ride BART. Don't bash us with such comments just because we ask you to better the system.

Special coffee mug to trump no beverage rule? Not going to work!

Did you read this article??? BART actually believes people will run out to buy these special mugs to drink their coffees and teas on the trains? They must not ride BART enough if they honestly think that. People bring in drinks of all types, in all containers. I've even seen a normal mug (open top) being brought in and then spilled everywhere. Most bring in paper cups from Starbucks or Peet's. Plenty bring in soda cans or plastic bottles. Once I saw someone pouring a pot of coffee into a Dixie cup.

If BART wants to seriously enforce the no beverage/no food policy, then by all means, suck it up, ASSIGN ONE PATROLLER IN EVERY TRAIN FOR A FEW WEEKS IN A ROW JUST TO TICKET VIOLATORS!!! People are not going to change their habits unless they pay a price and they certainly will not be changing the "cup" they drink from. If BART actually thinks they will make more money from selling these special mugs, I think they do not know their passengers well enough.

People need to just learn to either get up 10 minutes earlier and have your coffee early, or just wait until you get to your destination. There are plenty of Starbucks, Peet's, Seattle's Best around.....you really can't wait until then to get your caffeine fix? Then, eat caffeine pills on the train then!

I've personally seen coffee spilled on trains too many times-- "magic" cup or not, the coffee will spill one way or another. Please, BART, spend your time brainstorming on other ideas to improve the system!

Spare the Air brings out all sorts of interesting people

With BART free until noon today, we had the pleasure of seeing many different types of people on the train today.

Let me name a few examples for you:

-Kids who are out of school and just looking for a place to hangout
-First time BART riders with several maps and brochures in hand and ask everyone around them if this train goes to SF
-Lots of moms with strollers. Cute but also take up a lot of space during commute peak times
-Large groups of senior citizens. They must be taking a field trip together from the same senior homes. All have fanny packs, cameras on hand
-New riders/day trippers who started their picnics early while on BART
- New riders who can't even tell which side of the platform is the side they need and holds the door open while they find out

Help a fellow commuter find a stolen vehicle...read on!

The post below is from BART commuter Jeff A. His motorcycle got stolen in the N. Concord BART station. Please help if you have any information at all!!! How rigorous is the policing around the parking lots???



Full dress Harley STOLEN from N. Concord BART Station

During the daytime on Wednesday, June 11^th, my dark blue full dress Harley (faring, saddlebags, trunk) was stolen from the motorcycle parking adjacent to the pedestrian walkway about 200’ ft from the Station Agent’s booth. One or more people may have been involved. Apparently, another Harley was stolen the same day from the PH station. If you think you saw anything or anyone around the motorcycles, please call BART Police Officer R. Barrera #418. Thanks.

New riders shock

With gas prices still on the rise, we all have seen and felt the increased BART ridership. My father in-law is not a new rider per se, but for someone who typically drives across the Bay Bridge, he's been taking BART instead on occasions. He shared something interesting with me yesterday. He said, "Good thing I read your blog, I now see what you're talking about, all the weird and rude people on BART."

Wow, I thought, I'm glad Bartmusings is good for something...it prevents new rider shock. Well, good! Happy to hear that. He then told me what he saw....

He saw a man with ear plugs (normal) who just started clipping his finger nails while on the train (abnormal). With clippings flying everywhere, he didn't care who was watching or what people were thinking, and instead patted away his nail clippings off his legs so they are flying off in all directions. Serious lack of manners, but I'm not shocked or surprised one bit...I've seen that on BART several times..people clipping their finger nails. No toe nails yet, thank goodness!

This man, after he shoo'd away his nail clippings, then started singing very loudly in the train (abnormal but we've all seen it). Yet another slightly shocking behavior to new BART riders but those of us who ride daily, we've seen our share of "performers" on BART who just don't care that they are emitting noise, making a fool of themselves, or being a bit scary and bizarre.

New riders, welcome to our BART world where you experience something new and shocking every week, and nothing will surprise you after a few years of commuting via BART!

Anyone else feeling his pain? Complaints from a frequent Fremont line rider

I got this email from a very frustrated Fremont line commuter. I feel for him....BART often minimizes the negative impact for PR purposes (what else can they do?) This rider's total commute time has increased almost 3 fold and he actually found out the truth behind when Hayward power station will be fixed...hint: MUCH longer than the publicly stated 6 weeks!

You've got to read his email.....(Thanks again for sending!) Speak up if you are just as frustrated! BART needs to know!

*****

I am a frequent commuter on the Fremont Line. Since BART "blew up their power station" in the Hayward Yard, their PR people say it only causes a 10-15 minute delay and will be fixed in 6 weeks. Well, I have a beef with that. Read on, my friend...

MORNING COMMUTE FROM EL CERRITO DEL NORTE TO FREMONT

If you take the 423a, 438a, 453a, or 508a, you will not need to transfer at Bayfair to get to Fremont. But, you still crawl at a snails pace (literally!) once past Bayfair. But, if you take the 523a or any train thereafter, you WILL have to transfer at Bayfair, takes about 10 min of waiting, then more snails pacing on to Fremont.

MY TOTAL COMMUTE MORNING MINUTES ON BART BEFORE THE BLOWOUT: 59 min.

MY TOTAL COMMUTE MORNING MINUTES ON BART AFTER THE BLOWOUT: 74 min.

AFTERNOON COMMUTE FROM FREMONT TO EL CERRITO DEL NORTE

The delays are not 10-15 minutes, they are on average 30-40 minutes. This time includes standing and waiting at the Fremont Station, then having to board an SF train, as there are no Richmond trains going to Richmond (just to Fremont). Then the train literally crawls (I can get out and walk faster) from Fremont to Bayfair, then we all have to get out and "transfer" to a Richmond train, this entails waiting 20-30 minutes on the Bayfair platform.

MY TOTAL COMMUTE AFTERNOON MINUTES ON BART BEFORE THE BLOWOUT: 62 min.

MY TOTAL COMMUTE AFTERNOON MINUTES ON BART AFTER THE BLOWOUT: 94 min.

This "problem" has increased my commute, round-trip on BART by 47 minutes, NOT the 10-15 min the BART PR people say.

Oh, yes, from Bayfair on South, you can no longer depend on the message signs or the

voice notification. The times they announce are completely off. Useless is more like it.

Here are the stats:

Then, to make matter worse, I spoke with one of their Electricians who happened to be on my train one morning, he said that it will take a few months, NOT 6 weeks! to repair the burnt out electrical station (not sure what to call it, but you can see it all blackened as you pass through the Hayward Yard).

I really hope they fire the numbskull who short circuited everything.

Do you know of other BART riders who are upset like me?

How young is too young to ride on BART alone?

I saw a young boy today, no older than 8 perhaps, riding BART alone today. He was already on the train by the time I got on in Orinda, and by the time I got off at Civic Center, he was just getting ready to pack up and leave. He caught a lot of attention not just because of his age, but he was playing a portable video game of some type the entire time with volume blasting! He did not have a headset but then again, he is so young and riding alone, would his parents actually teach him to use a headset in public out of politeness? Probably not.

The entire ride we all could here..."beep beep", "bang bang", "boom", and all sorts of electronic sounds and tunes as he's intensely playing his shooting game on the portable screen.

I have a nephew who is 8, and this little boy is smaller than him! To me, I just think it's so dangerous for such a young kid to be riding on BART alone! Where are his parents?

Isn't there a rule on BART against this?

Blindness in question

Bizarre situation this morning. Saw a young man walking in with a blind walking stick (apologies in advance for not knowing the proper term for it). Generally, when you see a blind passenger, you dash up from any seat you're sitting in. I was standing today but I noticed people were not getting up for him. Then, I had a good look at him. He looked like he can see! His eyes were focused, he knew where to look for potential seats and spaces, he also took next steps without hesitation. Meanwhile, he was swinging around his stick from left to right very quickly, suddenly points at a seat by the door with the stick, at eye-level to the passenger seated, and says, "Can I take this seat?" He was looking right at her when he spoke.

I don't know what to think. I'm sure he needed the walking stick for one reason or another but in all ways possible, he looked like he could see, and see well.

Once he was seated, he went to sleep. So I wasn't really able to examine him some more.

What's with all the broken doors?

At different hours of the day through the last few weeks, I've been encountering more and more broken train doors that remain shut. They have these stickers that are marked broken, but you can't really seen them from the outside, hence, most people just wait lamely for it to open as other passengers have already boarded the train through other doors, and suddenly, these people realize the doors are broken and have to dash like mad for one of the doors nearby. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't.

Once I even saw 3 doors in a row that were broken, making the passengers in line dash quite a few yards down just to find a way into the train.

Not to mention the pain this causes on the way out of the trains too. Despite crowded conditions, you need to say "excuse me", "excuse me", "coming through", as you push yourself through the aisles from train to train to find a door that actually works!

What are these doors broken and left unfixed? Or are doors being fixed daily but new ones break just as quickly?

All I know is...I've seen an increase in broken and unopened doors!

Impressively on time

On a more positive note, trains between Pittsburg/Baypoint and SFO/Daly City have been impressively on time this week so far, at least for me! One train this morning even came 30-45 second earlier! It's been great. Keep it up, BART.

More from the $5 homeless man

Last week I wrote about a homeless man who asked me for..not change, not $1, but $5, and then got mad that it's impossible for him to make a living out there.

I saw him today, and again, asking for $5. He said, "Anyone got $5 to spare, I need to get some food."

Get some food? With $5?? Come on now! Cost of living around Civic Center Station is not that high. It is lined with 99 cent food options, ultra cheap donut and coffee shops. Even Starbucks has breakfast pastries for $1.35. Not even my lunch costs $5 since I prefer to have a large bowl of soup w/ bread these days instead of full entrees.

I'm sure he has plenty of reasons for asking for $5 instead whatever he can get (hopefully not alcohol and drugs)....but this is just a bit much. This brings me back to the shocking revelation I experienced 2 years ago from volunteering at SF Homeless Connect Day. There I was, trying to do my part to help the homeless, but guess where 99.9% of them immediately headed to as I tried to introduce them to the wide scope of services available from jobs, job training, detox, health services, and a bunch of freebies including games, portable radio, magazines, watches, food and clothes. Where did they want to go? Not jobs, not training, not detox or health but straight to the freebies. Sure, food and clothing are critical items but those are packaged up for them to all take with them....it's not going anywhere. They won't even spend a few seconds to learn more about how to get themselves out of that mess. So much for ending homelessness.

**Apparently I need to clarify here since a reader accused me of being unreasonable. The food and clothing packages are made available to all homeless people at the end of their visits. They're not even remotely interested in spending 2 secs to pick up a flyer on training or detox and immediately demands to go directly to the exit...where the freebies are. Look, I'm not unsympathetic, in fact, I'm anything but. I've volunteered, I've donated, I've helped those with kids and pets especially...but cut me a bit of slack when I'm only sharing a slice of reality here from MY personal experience working at homeless events.***

When bikers ride BART in groups

I do see both sides to this bike dilemma: BART is sometimes not the most bike-friendly service, yet at the same time, how can BART fit all these bikes during peak hours. With gas prices still on this ridiculous rise, the problem will only get worse as more commuters turn to cheaper alternatives. Today, I rode the the train towards the end of peak hours where bikes were allowed onboard. I was just tired and have a long day at work ahead...so decided to take an extra 15 minutes at home in the morning to finish up my morning smoothie.

Typically, whenever I have the luxury of taking this slightly later train, I do see 2 or 3 bikes per car, and they don't really get in the way. However, today, there were 7 FULL-sized bikes in my car and boy, did it get crowded!!

The riders looked like college students and their bikes immediate blocked both doors and the aisles. They insisted on being in the same car, but I looked in the car in front and in back...both had a few bikers in them so it didn't make sense for me to ask a few of them to move cars since it would just crowd another car.

I felt like I was inside a bike garage. I was seated but every few minutes, a bike wheel rolled over my feet, or a bike handle bar jammed in my face. A few other passengers actually moved cars because our car just became a crammed-up bike garage. I was too tired and cemented in my seat that I decided to observe all the way so I have some material for the blog.

The bikers were definitely biking rookies as they didn't even move their bikes to let people out at Embarcadero and Montgomery. Passengers were not happy, as they tiptoed around the bikes just to get out. At Civic Center, it was practically just me and the bikes, and one of the bikers straight stepped on me as she was trying to maneuver her way to an empty seat. That just about did it for me...before I walked out of the train, I said to them politely but instructionally, "You guys should have split into two groups or something so you don't block the train doors. And generally, there is an bike etiquette, you're supposed to stay out of the way to let people in and out of the trains. Is this your first time?"

Their reply was "Yes, this is our first time taking BART. We'll be doing this all summer. They'll be more of us riding bikes to classes together."

They're innocent and learning...I couldn't say much more but, "Good for you. Way to be green."

Bike ridership on BART will only increase with these outrageous gas prices and now with summer vacations! I guess the rest of us will just have to put up with bike-packed train rides.

"Interesting" conversation with a homeless man

As you know, there is quite a homeless population around the Civic Center Station. I've had memorable experiences with them in the past decade, from making weekly donations in the beginning to the same man until I realized I'm not helping him, to having a homeless man point a toy gun to my head, to witnessing public urination in broad daylight.

Today was interesting...even enlightening, in a weird way. I was walking out of Starbucks with a cup of coffee, looking for my shuttle, when a homeless man (HM) yells to me:

HM: Hey you, got five dollars to spare?
Me: No, sorry I don't.
HM: **ck you then. Look at you and your fancy caffe latte. You don't have five **ck** dollars for me. **ck you. (He was looking straight at me, and about less than 3 feet away)
Me: I honestly don't. Sorry.
HM: Sorry my ass. **ck you. Can't I make a decent living around here??

I quickly walked away and into my shuttle for safety. I was a bit shocked by his last statement. "Decent living"? That's what he calls panhandling and harassing passerbys who don't have money to give? And what's with asking for FIVE dollars? What happened to "any change?" I guess inflation affects them too.

Once upon a time....BART lucky days happen!

What a difference temperature makes. Today, as you all know, was much cooler, both in the morning and evening. By luck and whatever else, the morning train was right on time, and had a seat left for me! Wow...I felt so happy and grateful since I felt so tired today. This hasn't happened to me in quite some time! The way home, same thing. Though off schedule by a few minutes, the moment I descended down to the platform from the escalators, the Pittsburg/Baypoint awaited my arrival. The train was cool, clean (yes, clean! don't know why!) and had plenty of seats left for my picking.

Today's BART experience was so pleasant that it's hard to believe. After a tough and uncomfortable week last week, this was a welcomed change. Yeah, year, of course I know my luck won't continue on forever (tomorrow will probably be horrendous just because I posted this), but one good day like this sure picks up my BART-rider spirit!

Wish all of you will also have such a comfortable and lucky day with BART this week!

The test of heat tolerance

I'm not sure if BART is cutting back on electricity or what but the past couple of days, every train I've been on have NOT had the AC on. In the mornings, the trains have been warm, but since it's only about 70 degrees outside, the car temperature is definitely tolerable.

The afternoon/evening rides are quite the opposite, however. With the Bay Area heat wave and temperatures way above 90s and in the East Bay, 100+, BART trains with no AC are hell, to be blunt.

There have been delays in the afternoons due to shortage of trains from overheating (heard from KTVU 10pm News), and add that to peak commute hours where there are already long lines waiting at each downtown station, the trains were very hot, full of odors, beyond standing room maximum capacity, and wet with sweat.

Let me describe that in more detail for you. The moment you walked into the train, you can't breath. It is so hot and so stuffy that you need to fan yourself just to generate some air to suck in. Everyone is sweating, some more than others. I was sweating around my forehead but nowhere else, while others were soaking wet all over, some were only wet on the face and armpits, and a few lucky ones didn't sweat at all but were fanning profusely. Handlebars and overhead safety poles were also lined with sweat from being held on to by overheated passengers.

I believe it must have been at least 90 degrees inside these trains. No air coming in from ANYWHERE and to make matters worse, the train was traveling much slower than usual, with plenty of stop and go's. It was a long miserable ride.

One standing man in a suit, dress shirt and tie was so hot that his sweat was dripping from his face onto the floor, like a leaky faucet. A few drops fell on the toes of the woman sitting next to me.

I was lucky enough to be seated. I used a magazine to fan myself during the entire ride, so were most of the people around me. You absolutely needed to.

Some people who couldn't stand the heat and overcrowding had to exit the train early. Although their exit didn't loosen up any spaces since a new line of passengers awaited the train at each stop. It was awful.

Needless to say, you can smell body odors everywhere but in that condition, there were worse things to think about. I pretty much focused on getting myself through the ride by fanning an counting down the stations.

A sight that left me speechless

I've seen this once before but something about it this time shocked me and left me speechless. What did I see? A huge mass of human feces just sitting mid-staircase off 7th/Market off Civic Center Station. I've seen human feces near there before but never this large, this evident, and this exposed! I see and smell urine in the area almost daily but this mass was just a shocker.

I hope it's gone by the time I use those stairs later today. If not, I don't even want to imagine the swarm of flies and whatever else that are living off the pile.

A closer look at "demo" cars

We've all seen the demo cars. They are indeed much better than the original. I like the plastic floors, fewer seats, full-length handle bars, and overall, I just like having more standing room altogether. With the recent ridership surge however, I took a much closer look today at the demo car I was in to see if it truly will make a big impact.

A few things I noticed that needs to be addressed:

1) Why are the overhead bars still so high? And if they must remain high, why only 6 hanging straps for those who are under 5'5" or 5'6" to comfortably hold on to? I am around that range and unless I'm wearing high heels (which seems to be rarer these days), I cannot comfortably hold on to the overhead bar. Yes I can over-stretch to do so but with my big computer bag, it's not the safest or most comfortable position.

We need more full length bars that run from ground to ceiling. Those are thin and don't take up much room!

2) Why are the cloth seats still around? This demo car was new but already, I saw white and yellow stains spread around the "new" seats!

3) In my opinion, still way too many seats. BART seats take up a lot of room. Why not just a single row of bench seating parallel to the windows? Or just much fewer seats all around? Like Muni trains? Keep a couple seats by the door for handicapped and maybe a couple others where it makes sense but that's all we need. In Asia, Europe, and other places I've travelled to, that's the way to do it when mass transit is THAT widely used! It's about standing room, not seating comfortably in cushioned seats. BART is past that now. With gas prices soaring and most of the Bay Area population being so green-conscious, BART needs to serve its purpose well.

Max capacity standing room only trains sometime get so crowded that you are practically attached full body to the person in front and in back of you. Something needs to be done.

Other thoughts on this?

www.bart.gov/wireless - verdict?

I'm really glad that it's now easy to check real-time train arrivals/delays on our wireless phone now. I was at a doctor's appointment this morning, and with the long wait, I had no idea what time trains come during post-commute hours. I decided it was a good time to put www.bart.gov/wireless to the test! The result? Unexpected...and bizarre.

Immediately it showed me 5 minutes, 10 minutes, as the estimated arrival time for the next SF bound trains from Orinda. Wow...I thought, this is cool! So I thought I had 10 minutes to comfortably get myself over to the station, park my car and walk up to the platform.

However, as I arrived, I saw the previous train (5 minutes before the one I wanted to take) arrive. I didn't rush, thinking I still have 5 minutes to get up there.

Well!!! I was wrong! I walked up and saw on the schedule that the next SF-bound train is 20 minutes away!

How did that happen?? Where did my intended train go? The real-time schedule said it would arrive in 5 minutes so why the 20 minute wait?

Needless to say, it didn't come in 5 minutes and I decided not to wait the full 20 minutes. I left the station (after paying the minimal fee to get through the turnstiles) and had to drive to work. After a certain hour, I do not have a connecting shuttle to take to work, and finding a taxi is a difficult task in that area for some reason.

Verdict- good concept but could probably use some fine tuning!!! What did happen today?

Update to "late and crowded train" post

You probably read this already on SF Chronicle Thursday but I'm glad BART is thinking about making the trains more commuter-friendly. In addition to fewer seats on the trains, they need to put in more safety bars, not just up on top by vertically from the ground up so kids, or height-challenged adults can ride safely as well. Please do this fast, BART! Make the peak hour rides slightly more comfortable, please!

What do you do when you see a very pregnant woman on BART?

I've written about this before and have gotten all types of comments back. Recently, I've had several friends who are expecting and our conversations have ignited my interest in this topic.

For as long as I can remember, I have always given up my BART seat to someone who is visibly pregnant. When I don't have a seat and they remain standing, I let them stand in my space if it's closer to a safety bar. It's no secret that the extra weight, the fatigue, the limited range of motion, and the slightly slower ability to react can be potentially dangerous for a pregnant woman. Let's say a train suddenly jerks, the rest of us usually find our balance after a quick bending of the knees. For a pregnant woman? If she is not holding on to something, she falls. The fall doesn't just hurt her but could also jeopardize the fetus. We all know that but for one reason or another, many pregnant women remain standing on BART. I'd give up a seat to a visibly pregnant woman before I give it up to elderly person who appears healthy enough to stand.

I know opinions differ on this subject. I recall one man who left a comment expressing his disagreement saying that society already expects him to give up the seat to elderly and handicapped, now pregnant woman too? It's not fair, he says.

There is no BART rule that says you have to give up your seat to a visibly pregnant woman, so no, of course you don't need to.

So what do you do when you see a very pregnant woman on BART? We all know there's some discomfort associated with being pregnant....to me, I think they deserve a seat more than the rest of us.

Another late and overly crowded train

The past 2 weeks, SF-bound trains from Pittsburg/BayPoint have been continuously late (except this Monday) and as a result, jam packed beyond maximum capacity due to the extra long lines collecting at each station with each late minute, and of course, the general overall increase in BART riders due to soaring gas prices.

This morning's train was 10 minutes late. By the time it pulled into Orinda, passengers were already literally packed like sardines. The 2 women in front of me in line chose not to go in, but I had to go to work, and so did the 8 other people waiting in back of me. The line on the platform became nonexistent as soon as people realized that the train is now boarding on a first come first served basis. Even though there appeared to be no more room for additional human bodies, we all know anything is possible...much to the dismay of those already in the train.

I squeezed myself in and found a half square foot of space to stand, right under this tall, elderly man. Because of his height, our physical proximity wasn't too awkward. Sure, our bodies were touching but at least our faces weren't a centimeter apart.

Why not just get on the next train you ask??? I would have if it's within 5 minutes away, but it was TEN MINUTES AWAY still! By the time that train comes around, it'll be another jam packed train!

To make matters worse, there were people with large luggage pieces on the train too. 3 small bodies could have used that space to ride the train!

What is going on? Mechanical problems? Train shortage? Why are commute hour trains arriving late more than on time (I count on time as within 5 minutes delay) these days?

Run! It's a school field trip!

This morning, I was shocked by how crowded the Orinda BART Station entrance was. There were about 200+ high school students hanging out in front of the ticket turnstiles. As soon as I saw them, I ran as fast as I could to get through the turnstiles and up the escalators to secure a spot on the platform.

It's absolute madness! Slowly, the students started coming up to the platforms. There was NO ROOM for them all to stand. Thank goodness the train came before all of them made it up, so they, all 200+ of them, had to wait for the next train. I got onto this one safely, without 200+ extra bodies crowding with me.

It's great they are taking BART for school trips but it is a problem when they are trying to get on during busy commute hours. I can't imagine what the next train looked like!! I mean, the trains are usually already crowded at Orinda, with long lines awaiting at Rockridge and MacArthurs.

Will the teachers divide them up train by train???? I sure hope so. But even with a 10 car train, that's 20+ extra bodies per train. I may be underestimating the total count....but there were A LOT of kids there, at the very least 200.

Kids ride free this Sunday, May 4th (but don't they already walk under?)

I guess Nestle Nesquik is sponsoring this special event where kids can ride free on Sunday, in addition to hanging out with the Nesquick bunny at certain locations. More information can be found here: http://www.bart.gov/news/features/features20080425.asp

Great promotion for BART and Nestle. Fun for the family. But...when I saw this, the first thing that came to my mind was, don't kids already ride free? Not because they are supposed to but more often than not, I see many kids who can bend over under the ticket gate get through that way instead of using a ticket. Most of the time with their parents.

Not everyone does that, I know, but more than 50% of parents I see on BART who have taken kids with them do not pay for them.

At what age is a ticket required? I assume if they are in a stroller, it's ok, but what about 5 or 10 year olds? I've even seen teenagers go through the gates without paying.

Standing with Mr. Etiquette

No seats this morning, as expected, but at least I got to lean against the in-between train doors, which is not bad. Standing immediately in front of me was this man who is super friendly and nice. He was also Mr. Etiquette. Why? Because whenever someone vacated their seat, he was quick to offer it to the passengers standing in front of him instead of taking the empty seat himself. IN FRONT is the key word here....he forgot apparently that I was in BACK of him and kept on letting others sit, even those from far way, and completely blocked me from taking one of the empty seats which was just a couple feet from me.

The first few times it happened, I didn't care much. I thought it was refreshing that he was so nice to others. But then, I got annoyed because in order for him to back up for others to take the seat, he actually stepped on me a few times! He didn't even know!

Finally, I had to say "excuse me" in an attempt to try to take one of the empty seats before he "saves" it for another. But as he finally allowed me to move past him, I was too late, the seat was gone.

Oh well, no big deal really. Leaning against the door isn't a bad thing! It was just funny that this man made a point to let everyone within his sight to take the seats, but either purposely denied me or just a case of out of sight, out of mind.

It's OK to me really. I'm capable of standing.

5 thoughts from my BART ride today

5. The past week, BART has consistently been 10+ minutes late daily, causing the trains to be unbearably crowded and uncomfortable. What the heck is going on?

4. Not only is it 10+ late, the next train (for those with time to spare and want a less stressful ride) is usually another 10 minutes away! Despite that fact, train operators announce inside the train that "the next SF bound train is just 1 minute behind, please step out of this train!" Who the heck is going to believe him when the electronic sign says "SF Daly City Train 10 minutes"! Needless to say, no one waits and everyone piles on.

3. I was within centimeters from passengers today. I was sandwiched between a woman who was within kissing range from me. If the train had come to a sudden stop, she would have no doubt fell on my face and planted a kiss on me. Behind me was this huge man....I was literally under his chin. Yes, we were all that close to each other physically during today's miserable ride!

2. I am considerate...I actually step out of the train at each stop to not block the doorways so people can exit and enter! But as I step aside to let people through, a short miserable looking man in a suit that is way too small for him takes my space! I was pissed and had no patience to deal with such inconsideration. I said sharpy, "Excuse me" and pushed him out of my way with my shoulder.

1. On a more positive note, my parents and sister came visit today. My sister flew in from the midwest to SFO and took BART to Orinda. She thought the process was easy and efficient although she commented on the train operator's announcement at each stop to be incomprehensible and inaudible, and the interesting mix of passengers on BART. Overall, her experience was positive. SFO BART ridership has gone up significantly the past year! Take a look at this article.

Hope tomorrow is a better day on BART! Not a good way to start off the week. I came into work quite late...from the BART delay, and then from missing my company shuttle connection.

BART police and food violator come face to face

Two BART police officers walked up and down the trains during my ride home Thursday. They are probably patrolling the train and looking for something questionable. There was a man eating Burger King in my train car and I was bothered by the smell the entire ride. I'm not the only one who minded the smell. It stunk. When I saw the BART police officers, I was very happy. "Perfect timing!" I thought! They've gotta say something to this man. I'm sure they can smell it too! Burger and fries are delicious but the smell does NOT mix well with stinking carpet and seats, lack of oxygen, perfume, body odor, and lord knows what else. Any food smells bad on BART!

Now, I'm not naive, I'm sure these BART police officer were hunting for a criminal as they paced leisurely down the aisle (yes, there is sarcasm here!), chatting with each other about the San Jose Sharks. No, but seriously, I'm sure their presence on the train make BART safer, in some way. I'd rather have them around than not! When the BART police saw the man stuffing a handful of fries in his mouth, I was thinking to myself, "AH HA! You are caught!". Oh, how wrong I was. Both of them looked at him and just walked away! OK, maybe they were in a rush to catch a criminal (yeah, ok) but they could have at least said something to him. Something as quick as, "No food on BART, sir, please put that away." They said nothing! By saying nothing, they are validating that it is OK to eat on BART.

I just don't know why they couldn't have verbally warned him...it takes less than 2 seconds to say "no food on BART". What good is a rule then?

A theory: +1 twice as nice?

Maybe that's the secret to making a BART ride pleasant? This morning, I had the rare opportunity to ride BART with my husband who was headed to an event in SF. The train conditions were the same as always-- packed to the max with standing passengers, running a bit late, people jamming in despite the train reaching max capacity, and so dirty that it looks like it's been days since the last cleaning even though it is only morning.

But because my husband was riding with me, I was chatting with him through the entire ride, and although we were standing and packed like sardines between plenty of other passengers, the ride was much more tolerable than if I had been riding (or I should say standing) alone on my own.

Being able to have conversations with him (although we were practically whispering for privacy and to not bug people with our chatters) made yet another late and crowded ride, better.

Not sure if this theory is true...perhaps if both of us rode BART together daily, the positivity will wear off, and he will become just as picky as I am with every little thing on BART.

With gas prices at record high, what's not to love about BART?

I may pick on BART here and there (whether it's people, conditions, or delays) but really, I don't know another commute option that makes more sense for me than BART, especially when gas is well over $4 a gallon. I just heard a news report saying that BART ridership is up by 32,000 passengers this year, and soaring gas prices is one primary reason. And while car sales are declining, hybrid sales are up by 20+%. Number of cars that cross the Bay Bridge has declined too.

I don't mention in this blog the huge convenience that BART brings me but I do appreciate it for sure.

BART is economical (compared to recent gas prices), green, reliable (most of the time), very convenient, safe (I guess depends which station you frequent), quick (at least compared to driving during traffic peaks), and always great for people-watching (hence, this blog)!

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Do at least one new thing that's good for our planet.

Chatters on BART

I'm a fairly social person...I know how to make conversations with strangers when I need to, but one thing I don't like doing is striking up a conversation on BART. A couple times, conversations naturally happen, whether triggered by an experience (BART delays), similar reading material, or common dislike of someone else's behavior. But most of the time, people on BART prefer to be silent...immersed in their own reading, music, mobile device, or dreams.

This morning, I sat next to a woman who wanted to talk, apparently. She said hi, I said hi back. She said it's chilly today, I said, yeah, it sure is. OK, that's all fine and dandy, I don't mind brief small talk out of courtesy, but she took it too far. She went on and on:

She says: Where do you work?
I said: City (As I'm taking out my magazine AND Treo, trying to signal that I'm busy)
She says: Where at?
I said: XX *name withheld here (By now, I'm actually reading my magazine in between responses)
She says: What do you do there?
I said: Oh marketing (Purposely being vague with her about my exact role and responsibilities to avoid more conversation)
She says: I always thought marketing is fun. Better than customer service. You get to do fun and creative things with marketing like being on TV. Do you like it?
I said: Uh hum. (At this point, I can tell she has no clue what she's talking about and I really do not feel like being a marcom professor here. Besides, I could care less if she doesn't know what marketing is. Even more, I don't even do marketing...I have a much more specific role within Corporate Marketing)
I added: Go look up the website if you're interested. I'm sorry, I have some urgent work here that I need to take care of....I wish I could chat more. (I actually did have a problem at work and buried my head in my Treo thereafter). Sorry!

She looked at me with disgust as if I am the rudest person in the world and kept quiet therafter!

OK, some of you may think I'm a b*tch but I'm sorry I just don't feel like talking about my life or my day at work with a stranger while on BART! There are tons of people nearby probably chuckling at the situation that I was in. I really am social but BART is not a social setting and I prefer to keep to myself!

Technology matching 2008

Most of you probably have seen this new 21st century technology already but I generally get off at Civic Center station so I didn't see this until last Saturday while taking BART to a Giants game and getting off at Embarcadero to take Muni down to the ball park.

I'm talking about a flat screen right on top one of the ticket booths inside the Embarcadero station that actually tells you when the next trains (real-time, tracking delays) are coming BEFORE you insert your ticket and get stuck waiting at the platform. While I walked by, the screen showed, "Daly City Train 3 minutes Pittsburg/Baypoint train 13 minutes". Wow, finally!

I've been hoping for something like this OUTSIDE of stations so we know when we have a few extra minutes to grab a copy of newspaper, or finish up a coffee before we walk through the ticket turnstiles. When trains are delayed, it's a huge convenience to find out before you insert your ticket and commit yourself to waiting on the platforms where it's windy, loud and freezing (at least where I am in the morning). For those stations with parking structures, it would be even better if they can install these flat screens as you enter the lot.

It's easy to dismiss these benefits as unnecessary but they make things easier and more convenient for passengers so why not?

I don't know how long this flat screen in the Embarcadero station has been up...perhaps awhile but it's a good start. I hope to see more of these all around the BART stops.

Clever way to survive

Before I get into the real story here, I just have to say that as miserable as it was getting up at 6am this morning and getting on BART at 7am, I do love the less crowded, tamer trains...with open seats! I enjoyed the calmer commuter train atmosphere in the very early morning, versus the post-8am rush that I'm usually involved in. Although, I probably wouldn't voluntarily get to work this early daily.

OK...the point of the title...here it comes. I attended RSA Conference today at the Moscone Center. Aside from all the work responsibilities and schmoozing, I made an interesting observation. In the late afternoon, I started noticing homeless people inside the Moscone Center, with badges around their necks! A couple of them were lining up for free popcorn (provided by exhibitors), a few had cookies that were being given out at booths, and one of them grabbed a handful of mints, also available at booths. These homeless men were smart-- why? Well, as RSA Conference attendees started leaving in the mid-afternoon, tossing away their badges as they left the conference, the homeless pick them up from the trash bins, and wear them around their necks while walking right onto the show floors. Since Moscone is a weekly conference machine, these homeless men KNOW when to start going in to get themselves some food!

It was pretty evident they were homeless but show floor security didn't stop them from walking in, or just didn't mind them. I found that pretty ironic considering how strict they were about attendees going into track sessions, but here goes homeless folks, one by one, to the show floors, grabbing snacks to fill their stomachs.

Anyway, just an interesting observation. I guess being homeless, they learn how best to survive out there! Clever.

Hard to resist Krispy Kreme donuts

I sat next to a man today who had a small individual sized Krispy Kreme donut bag with a round, plump, center-filled donut inside. The sugar on top was oozing all over the paper bag. He folded in the opening of the bag and held the donut bag with his right hand during the entire BART ride. He followed the "No Food" rule and never cracked open his bag.

I don't know if I could have done that....I LOVE KK donuts and haven't had one in over 7 months, ever since the closest KK donut shop (which wasn't even that close) shut down. I don't like the ones they sell in supermarkets-- they're not fresh, so don't even point me to one of those!

Anyway, kudos to this man for following the "No Food" rule even with a Krispy Kreme donut in hand. He'd rather let the sugar smear all over the donut bag than break a BART rule. Wow! Not sure if I'd be so law-abiding in this situation :)

BART Survey

I finally got a BART survey to fill out! After years of riding BART, I honestly don't know why I have yet to receive a survey until this morning! Maybe I just happen to be on vacation out of country whenever they pass it out? Well, I got one today, yes!

I just filled it out but realized it is not a satisfaction survey like I hoped it would be. It's more of a profile/background survey to understand riders. Oh well...maybe next time.

If it had been a satisfaction survey, I was planning on posting my responses on BART Musings to show how I feel about BART. You might be surprised just how many positives I would have indicated and if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you probably wouldn't be surprised at all at which areas I would have indicated as below average or need improvement.

But since this survey didn't address satisfaction whatsoever, I figured I'll give my own rating of BART ridership satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest.

My BART satisfaction rating is 7. Not bad.

Yours?

No way to escape the smell

BART trains were 10 minutes late today, causing huge lines at each station. As expected, trains were beyond maximum capacity, with people tip-toeing to fit themselves on the other side of the door. It was uncomfortably crowded....you definitely can smell the shampoo used by the person next to you...if you're lucky that is (since you can be smelling worse things!)

At MacArthur, as everyone impossibly squeezed themselves onto the train, in walks a homeless man! To be blunt, he stunk. His clothes were filthy and torn, his hair was knotted all around, and his skin had blemishes, scratches, and dried patches of skin ALL over. It was obvious he hadn't had the chance to shower in a LONG time, and to make things worse, he was carrying a trashbag full of his belongings ranging from leftover scraps of food, cans, newspapers, to a few shirts.

There was already lack of air in the trains and once he came in, the smell penetrated immediately. It was tough to breath. His scent dominated the entire train. All of us were trying to stop breathing...you can just tell.

I couldn't take it. At the first Oakland downtown station, I walked out and changed a train. A few others followed me and re-entered the train a few doors down. We all sighed with relief and took in a deep breath of fresh air...well, as fresh it BART train air is.

It seemed like the longest 3 minutes ever (from MacArthur to Downtown Oakland). You want to run, but have no where to go since it is so crowded.

No one fears fines and community service for eating/drinking on BART

Chronicle's Rachel Gordon wrote an article today titled, "More food options at BART stations, but high fines await snackers inside the gates".

BART Police Chief Gary Gee discusses that consuming food or beverage within any "paid areas" will lead to penalties of up to a $250 fine and 48 hours of community service. He says, "BART police officers will ticket riders who eat or drink in the paid area, which we define as the places where you need a ticket, such as inside the fare gates of a station, on platforms or on any train," BART Police Chief Gary Gee said today. Those who defy the ban could be cited for an infraction and face penalties of up to a $250 fine and 48 hours of community service.

No one cares about these fines because everyday I see people eating or drinking something! No one will take these warnings seriously until they've received a ticket or have seen someone getting one...and that just won't happen unless BART is more serious about enforcing this rule.

I've raised this before but only to attract criticisms from people who feel that enforcing food/beverage rule is insignificant compared to crimes! Duh.....of course it is insignificant! And I do not want to take time away from those BART cops that are working hard at ensuring security and safety in the parking lots, stations, platforms, and train!! Of course not!

But here's the thing....are they all busy at all times? Why are there 4 or 5 BART police officers chatting with each other in front of the Civic Center Station florist on ticketing level? Or 10 officers after a Warriors or A's game (I understand the need in that area) but a lot of the "unsafe situations" actually happen inside the trains after these games where people are intoxicated! I'm sure they are discussing important BART security issues while they are together but are there really that few resources that have time to walk up and down random trains for enforce rules?

Maybe BART should hire Scouts from high school who can help ticket part time? It could be part of their service. Just kidding...I don't know. But all I know is...just telling people there will be fines is not going to do you any good! People continue to bring in their coffee, bagles, croissants, breakfast bars, breakfast burritos (the worst!), pizza, sandwiches, hotdogs, thai leftovers, cake from the office, king size candy bars, leftover food from ballbarks, and ice cream cones on BART.

By the way, everything I just listed, I've seen being eaten on the trains. I've told people before that they are violating the rules, especially coffee drinkers who come awfully close to spilling on me, but they ultimately don't care!! I

t's a daily habit for them, and to have it be broken, something REAL needs to happen.

Once again....excess luggage on BART needs solution!

For whatever reason, Friday afternoon's ride home also included many passengers returning home from SFO. I walked in and at least 8 empty seats were taken up by people's suitcases, golf bags, and carry-ons. Generally, at Civic Center Station, there are plenty of empty seats left, and eventually, by Montgomery, they get filled up. But this Friday, every seat was taken, by people or by luggage pieces.

I don't know if these SFO passengers were newbies or what, but no one even bothered to remove their excess baggage from the empty seats to let actual PEOPLE sit.

I walked in and immediately spotted someone who had a golf bag leaning against an empty seat-- I told the couple, "Can you move this aside a little so I can take this seats? Thanks."

They acted like if I am asking them to give up their child or something, but reluctantly, they moved aside the golf bag, squeezed it in between them, and I took the adjacent seat.

There were at least 7 more seats taken by various passengers' luggage. One couple was so over-packed that they had suitcases and carry-ons that piled on top of TWO empty seats. It's quite ridiculous really, especially since they never took the initiative to move the luggage underneath their feet, or just pile on top of their laps, in order to let standing passengers sit.

By Embarcadero, the train was at max capacity. A few people boldly asked the SFO passengers to remove their luggage from the seats--- you'd think they would comply, but they sure didn't do it without making a big fuss and giving some major attitude.

They say...

"where am I going to put all this?"
"what do they expect us to do with our suitcases?"
"we got here first."

Though I was already seated, I wanted to tell them off, "if you are so worried about where your luggage should go, why don't YOU stand UP, and put your luggage on your own seat?" Before I contemplated saying this aloud, another woman pretty much read my mind, and told the couple to stand up if they insist on letting their luggage take up empty seats.

The couple was shocked by the request. I don't know what was so precious that was inside their luggage but he actually vacated his seat and put his luggage on top of it.

By MacArthur, all the luggage-occupied seats were vacated.

Once again, I just have to say that yes, BART to SFO and back is a wonderful convenience but luggage occupancy is a BIG issue. The demo cars offer more room, but not enough still, and they don't prevent people from insisting to pile up their suitcases on top of perfectly good empty seats.

Can BART post a sign? BART neophytes really need to learn some basic courtesy.

Tourney on my mind 24X7

I'm breaking my own rule again and writing about something other than BART and the always fun Bay Area commute. Feel free to skip this if you could care less about my sports devotion...I understand :)

My 3/20 post about UCLA proved to be another unpopular post...it's OK, it was more for good luck and for my own sanity, so I do appreciate you guys putting up with it. I got one response from someone who believes UCLA has no shot again UNC. A lot of people think that, especially after the last 2 games we played, but I believe in our team, our talent, and our drive. We'll make it work and pull through.

After nearly blowing a 21-point lead last night, I am obsessively reading every analysis of the Xavier-UCLA match-up tomorrow, and even during my sleeping hours, I had dream sequences about UCLA playing against Xavier, being up 2 at the half, and coming back with a strong 2nd half. Hope it comes true.

I think last night's game was a good wake-up call for them: Take nothing for granted, focus one game at a time, and if we want to win it all, we need to make some adjustments. No one was happy with the win because as perfectionists, they know that was far from their potential and capability. It was a B-rated effort from us as a team for many reasons, giving all the UCLA haters out there more false reasons to bag on us and the Pac-10.

But I do believe in our players, Coach Howland, and our talent. The one encouraging thing that picks me back up over and over again is the fact that every game, someone different (well, aside from Kevin Love since he's the consummate pro in every game) steps it up a notch to get us to the finish line.

Why do I believe? For countless reasons, and because of this miracle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiy59lXkw0s

Bring on Xavier.

Hideous delays today

My usual train was delayed by 16 minutes. It's not so much being 16 minutes late that upsets me (although standing on the platform with the wind continuously blowing on my face for 16 minutes is certainly miserable), what I really dislike about delays is the long lines of passengers that await an already packed train at every station, and everyone insists on squeezing on. Can't blame them I guess, waiting sucks. Sometimes, if there's a train 3-5 minutes behind, I'd consider waiting for the next train to avoid the crowds but no such luck today. The next train status was completely unknown. Alright, I thought, in I go.

By Orinda, the train was at maximum capacity. I was literally standing between the legs of an older man sitting down in the handicapped seat, with my face 2 inches from another woman's curly hair which poked me at every jerky motion of the train.

Rockridge is a popular station, and as we approached, I saw how crazy long the lines were. There were at least 15 people who wanted to squeeze into my particular train car. I ended up with a man standing so close to me that our shoulders were joined as one, and his shoes were touching mine. It was incredibly uncomfortable-- I felt body heat (not to mention some body odor) all around me. One second, someone's backpack runs into me, another second, someone steps on me because they didn't have a bar to hold on to.

Not to mention, only 2 people got off at MacArthur while at least 5 more piled in. It was unbearable. I felt people's exhaling breath on my face since we were all so close together. I knew what song the kid in back of me was listening to because I was only a few inches away from his iPod.

It didn't get better at the Oakland downtown stations. We pretty much were beyond maximum capacity all the way through Embarcadero. The train ended up arriving nearly 20 minutes later than the usual time.

I was actually relieved to breath the biologically polluted air as I reached the street level of Civic Center Station.

South Hayward BART Station Safety

Every so often, I'd get a direct question about BART. I'm always really flattered when that happens and do try my best to provide an accurate and comprehensive response. I received a question about the safety of S. Hayward station this day and age from someone who is just moving back to the Bay Area from Atlanta. While I recall reading articles about crimes at S. Hayward station, I definitely did not want to generalize and thought it might be more useful if I open it up to people who actually know and use the station, and let them answer this question for this nice woman.

So, if you know or use the S. Hayward station, what is it like? Is it safe? Do you see BART police presence?

Some people just aren't afraid to ask

I'm about to describe a situation to you that I witnessed last Friday. I found it amusing purely because of this woman's audacity, although I can't say I agree with her. I'm curious what you think of this situation.

In a crowded train home, in comes a larger young (no more than 30s) woman who was left standing. To get to the point here, I'm not going to sugar coat anything. She is definitely overweight, and perhaps weighed in somewhere between 225-250...unhealthily large for her frame. It was apparent that she did not enjoy standing during the ride as she let out a loud sigh every few seconds, and stretched her head in all directions to look for place to sit. She didn't have a lot carry-ons, just a small purse that hung over her shoulders. She may be large but she looked like she was keeping her balance well.

Here's what came as a surprise to me. She squeezed her way down to another section of the train and tapped on the shoulders of a man dressed in a suit, who was seated by the window. She says, "Sir, if you don't mind, I'd really like to sit down."

This poor man was probably just as tired after a long day of work as she was. It was an awkward question. He was not seated in a handicapped seat but the fact that she picked him out of the crowd and asked him to give his seat up in front of everyone also meant that he had to think twice before telling her 'no!' (which I might have done in this situation, especially if I'm tired too, maybe a little grumpy from a tough day at work, and got my seat fair and square).

The nice gentleman actually said, "sure, no problem" and got up for her. Since he had the window seat, the passenger seated next to him (who happens to be female) also had to vacate, causing a cluster **ck in the crowded aisle. Perhaps he is just a rare gentleman who believed that he should conduct in this manner, or perhaps it was the pressure of being asked in front of at least 15 people who were awaiting his reply. The woman then refused to get into the window seat and asked for the aisle seat. Since she refused to get in first, she pretty much left the other passenger with no choice but be jammed up in the window seat.

Nevertheless, the overweight woman did say thanks and got her aisle seat.

I thought she was rude and self-entitled. I may not have have reacted so well if someone randomly asks me to vacate my seat.

Time for madness

I've learned to not talk about anything other than BART and the commute on this blog because whenever I get off topic, I tend to receive very negative feedback. Which is fine, I can take criticisms! But every so often, I cannot help it. If you've been following BART Musings for quite some time, you probably know just a hand full of personal things about me. For one, I've talked about being a pet owner and animal lover. Second, you know I work around SOMA and need to take a connecting shuttle, which can become a drag. Third, you know I live in Orinda, previously in Lafayette. And the one other thing that I used to talk about more but stopped on purpose is that I am a big sports fan, from NFL, MLB, to College!

I'm breaking my own rule today because March Madness has started and it is all I can think about. If you don't care much about the tournament, I know I must sound like an idiot, annoying fool, or a mad person, but the past two tourneys have brought me so close to the championship that this year, anything less than winning it all will just rip out my heart. I am so nervous and anxious for my team. They have more skill, more experience, and more talent combined than any other team, but we all know that in these situations, you need something else too....momentum and luck.

I am writing this entry to bring mojo for my beloved team. Please take it one step at at time, but win it all!! We're bringing banner #12 home to Pauley Pavilion this year!! Then...you guys (the players) can all join the draft because after that I'll be OK with 1 or 2 years of rebuilding.

Who is my team? If you've read my entries around March the past two years, you know I'm talking about the UCLA BRUINS! Give me a reason to fly to San Antonio! Win it all this time please! Go Bruins!

Random motion sickness

I'm not someone who gets motion sensitive. I can ride all sorts of roller coasters, I am fine with unstable flights and wavy boat rides (well, except once where our tour boat practically flipped over off the Napali Coast-- they really should not have allowed tours on that day!).

Today, on my way home, I don't know if I was extra tired, or just sitting in a weird position, or sitting in an extra stuffy train with strong odors, but my goodness, I had to repeatedly fight back some urges to regurgitate! This rarely happens to me, and especially not on BART!

It was awful. I had to dig up an old jolly rancher and hoped that the sourness would fight back my urges! I guess it worked since nothing came out but the 30 minute ride seemed endless and I just felt terrible!

Stupid man causes 4 minute delay

Actually, I don't know if it was his action that caused the 4 minute delay but it was stupid of him to pry over the doors anyways. A man, with a suitcase, sticks both his arms as the train doors were closing, and pulls open the doors, and keeps it opened by jamming his suitcase through. As he made his way into an already packed train, everyone was staring at him, with anger.

It took him some time to fully squeeze his body and suitcase in as the doors were stuck mid-way. It wouldn't open fully or close. As we heard the train operator's warnings, and the sound of other doors opening and closing, our train doors were stuck open half way. After a few attempts to open and close it, it finally closed and re-opened as it should have. Meanwhile, more people squeezed into the train. It was at unbearable capacity.

We ended up sitting at Rockridge for 4 minutes. I can't say for sure that it was the stupidity of that one suitcase carrying man that caused the delay, but his action sure slowed us down and made the ride even more cramped and stuffy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. It's been a couple years since I got into the spirit, but I proudly displayed green today!

BART's solution to financial woes

"Two weeks ago, the financial outlook for BART in the new fiscal year looks grim..." reports Rachel Gordon of SF Chronicle.

So to BART's credit, they came up with two solid plans to generate revenue: An increase in parking fines and large advertising contracts. OK, sounds good, at least they are not raising fares and parking permit fees AGAIN.

But here is where I am puzzled. "The nine BART directors voted unanimously to give themselves a raise, boosting their monthly stipend to $1,300 - an increase of $300," Gordon reports.

Now, while I understand inflation must be factored in amongst other things (not to mention they might deserve it), why couldn't they have given themselves the 30% raise AFTER they receive validation that the new revenue plans will in fact generate the projected numbers? Aren't they celebrating too early? The new fiscal year for BART doesn't even start until July 1st. It's like me saying, oh I think I am going to be promoted next year at work, why don't I buy a new Range Rover now?

I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why they voted for their own raise, but in light of the PRESENT outlook, they should have waited to ensure that the revenues from fines and ads are in fact in line with expectations. It just seems weird to me. Otherwise, I'd flatly say the new plans sound great.

Contamination

I can't stand it when anyone hurls a big chunk of phlegm + spit from their throat and shoots it with force out of their mouth and onto the ground. It's sickening. I don't care if they are old, or it's a cultural thing, or sick, or whatever excuse they have, one needs to have the decency to at least hurl it out in some attempt of silence and spit it out in a tissue or napkin, then toss it.

That said, you WILL NOT believe what I saw today. Someone did that and spit onto the train floors. The carpet is dirty already but it definitely did not need a wet, contagious mass to dirty it up some more! How classless is this person?? And it's not like we had a chance to show our discontent since he exited right afterwards. The yellowish/orangish mass just sat there on the carpet. Everyone who saw the perpetrator was avoiding it like the plague, but some poor woman walked in at West Oakland and steps right over it. No one told her, it's probably better that she didn't know.

Before you start guessing what this person looks like, I'd like to urge you not to. I've seen all types of people do this from all ethnicities, so I really don't think we should be stereotyping and making irresponsible assumptions.

Nevertheless, absolutely disgusting.

Ask and you shall receive

Many of us experienced some reluctance about reporting a complaint on the train to the train operator while the perpetrator is right next to you. For me, if someone needs to move their luggage out of people's way, eating their breakfast burrito, or vacate their seat for someone truly in need, I don't mind speaking up to them. But, when the perpetrator is someone who doesn't look like they're in the right state of mind, or they are drunk or homeless, I tend to keep my mouth shut seeing how if they follow me out of the train to have a "word" with me, I definitely have the size disadvantage!

Well, today, it was interesting and freshing to see an elderly man (with a cane, might I add) who was left standing, while two high school or college-aged kids were sitting in the handicapped designated seats without a care in the world. I was standing about 5 feet away. One more minute, I probably would have asked them to stand up for him, but this elderly man marches directly to the intercom and asks the T.O. to request the kids to give the seats to senior citizens and disabled passengers. He said it loud enough for all of us on this side of the train to hear....and instantly, our eyes shifted to the kids.

The kids heard too, slowly grabbed their backpacks, and eventually reluctantly got up. The man got his seat. Interesting. That's definitely another way to do it! I hope the kids learned a lesson.

People who rush to exit too early

I never understand why people do this-- the only reason I can think of for this type of behavior is that they are new to BART or they are very late for something of extreme importance. Morning commute trains are always packed, and most of us are well aware that 45% of the crowd exits at Embarcadero, while another 45% exists at Montgomery, leaving 10% for the rest of the stops. This morning, a woman standing in the deep end of the train decided to make her way to the doors as soon as we entered the Transbay Tube. The train was at maximum capacity, with barely room to stand. She pushes her way through bodies, saying "excuse me", "excuse me", "need to get out", while people gave her dirty looks. She pushed her way all the the way through until she stood in front of the doors. At that point, we weren't even past half way of the Transbay Tube yet. One person straight up told her, "Most of this train is leaving at Embarcadero, you won't be left on the train."

Not sure why she was in such a rush to push her way through to the front of the door-- she made more than 25 people shift their positions or bags to make room for her to pass. Why couldn't she just wait until we've arrived at Embarcadero and follows the rush of passengers exiting the train then?? It really only takes 4-5 seconds to exit the train with the flow....did she not have 4-5 seconds to spare?

How a dog brightens up a BART ride

I've always believed that pets bring out the best in people. This morning, there was a seeing eye dog on the train: a sweet, smart, loving Golden Retriever. He was carefully sniffing everyone's pants, triggering conversations between those who have dogs and cats at home whose scents he may be picking up on. It's quite rare to see a circle of BART passengers chatting, laughing, introducing themselves, and enjoying each other's company. The sweet seeing eye dog broke the usually tough ice between passengers and brought out the more social, caring, and friendly side of people.

He was sniffing me up and down and I knew that the scent of my precious pug is all over me from our morning goodbye routine. It was a pleasant Friday ride.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

No privacy, no problem!

I always think it's quite interesting how some people can carry on phone conversation during BART rides. On few occasions, I've had to take work calls and even fewer occasions, personal calls to quickly arrange pick-up at the BART station. I generally don't like people around me being forced to hear me talk, or simply just knowing anything about my life.

Last night, in a crowded train, a sharp and loud ringtone disrupts the humming of the running train. Everyone looks at the young, stylish woman who picked up.

Without any shyness, she shares some major news with about 30 people around her...here it goes. (Some portions omitted for privacy)

Hello?
Hi! Oh my god! I want to talk to you so bad!
I'm pregnant! Just found out 2 days ago! (everyone turns to look at her)
Yes, we're excited.
No, that's the funny thing, we didn't plan this at all. (everyone looks at her again)
I don't know, I guess (not sure what she was referring to here)
Yeah, let's do it! I need another girl's night out before I get big.
(Then she just goes on about other things)

I would not have been able to have that conversation in a crowded train. It's way to private for me! But no harm done, I am excited for her, although she has no idea.

The good still exists

Last Thursday, I was in a huge rush trying to catch my train. I was running towards the station, and at the same time, fishing through my bag for my ticket in one hand, and my Treo in the other.

In my haste, I must have dropped my very important work key chain/bracelet which basically is a velcro wrist wraparound that contains my badge, my office key, my valuable cabinet keys, laptop key, and the almighty VPN token. My company runs strict security and the procedure to get each of those replaced will pretty much render my completely unproductive at work for a couple of days.

I've never lost anything on my way to BART or on BART before. I knew I didn't lose it on the train because I had already noticed it was gone by the time I was sitting down. I thought I must have left it at home. Once I got home, I searched for it everywhere. Drawers, cabinets, underneath the tables, inside my dog's bed, and even in the refridgerator...no sign of it! My husband suggested going to the BART station to see if anyone turned it in.

I was doubtful. First of all, I didn't think anyone would turn it in. Secondly, I wasn't fully convinced that I could have dropped it accidentally while running.

We went to the station. The agent was friendly and helpful. He pulled out a few badges to see if those were mine, and they weren't. I almost lost hope. But suddenly, he pulled out this big bulge of badge and keys. It had my horrendous photo on the badge! I was really happy-- he pretty much saved me from hours of paper work and processing to get everything replaced!!!

I thanked him for making my day! He said, "don't thank me, thank the nice person who took the time to pick it up and turn it in to us."

Not that anyone would want my badge and keys but I really didn't think that people still took the time to do the right thing anymore. It was one those good moments where I realized that there are still plenty of good left in society.

I'm really glad I found my work badge/keys and VPN token.

BART needs to do a better job of wiping wet floors

When it's raining, some BART stations have floors that get floody, not to mention slippery, especially by the stairs where water accumulates from the dripping rain. I saw someone slip in a muddy wet puddle today inside the station! That isn't the first time I've seen someone fall flat on their butt. This woman needed help up--she was well over her 50s. I've even slipped a couple times in the past and had to balance myself before falling.

On occasions, there are caution signs..I guess that is the least they can do to keep people safe. Sometimes, not only are not no signs, the puddles are so large and the wetness has spread so far into the stations that it is truly a serious hazard.

Those of you who work for BART will probably say...we don't have the resources, we can't keep up with the cleaning, we'll need to raise fares to keep the station floors dry...etc. There are always reasons why BART can't be better.

Until you get someone who falls, breaks their bones, is hospitalized and sues you for reparations on top of exorbitant medical bills, I know nothing will change.

Can't help but feel sorry for this person

Saw a woman today as soon as I walked into the train. She was fidgeting the entire ride. She couldn't concentrate on her book, she couldn't keep her eyes shut, and she had to check her cellphone for time every minute.

As we are nearing the end of the Transbay tube, she started packing her cigarette pack. The slapping sound was hard to miss. She went on for about a minute and then takes out a cigarette and her lighter before we even approached Embarcadero. She must have been eager to get a puff. But she didn't even get off at Embarcadero, she got off at Civic Center, same as me. The entire time from Embarcadero to Civic Center, she was bouncing her legs nonstop, sighing every few seconds, putting her head down and then up, down and up, repeatedly.

I don't know if it was because she needed to smoke or she's got other problems on her mind but it definitely looked like she is very uneasy about something. As soon as she approached the last set of escalators, before we even got a peek at the cloudy skies, she's already taken a few puffs of her cigarette.

Such desperation that I can't comprehend. I do have acquaintances that smoke and none of them ever appear as anxious and desperate as she did for a puff. It's sad.

Valentine's Day leftovers

Noticed something different about the BART train floors today. There are more candy wrappers than usual. On top of that, I saw fallen quite a few heart message candies and used lollipop sticks decorating the already blemished carpet! Coincidence? I don't think so. I can't speak for men, but women definitely increase their sugar intake around Valentine's day. There's just more candy lying around in offices, in schools, in the house for the kids and their classmates! Heck, there are even people selling boxed chocolates around BART stations!

I saw a college student today opening up a bag of red foil wrapped heart chocolates on BART today. She tried to collect all the wrappers but some still fell on the floor. Even I succumbed to the sugar rush this morning by popping a jolly rancher in my mouth.

I'm curious to see what the trains look like at the end of the day! I just remember last year, it was quite funny to see many men carrying a nice bouquet of flowers on BART on their way home. Good thing there are many florist stands around the Downtown SF stations!

Brightens the morning, at least just a little tiny bit

I can't say that I've frequented most of the BART stations. But I do appreciate Orinda BART's effort in getting into the holiday spirit whether that's Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Easter, Martin Luther King's birthday, or Valentine's Day. Seeing the string of hearts and blinking lights these couple of weeks around the ticket agent booth does bring a little smile on my face because at least someone out there is trying to make an effort to brighten up BART riders' days.

Some might say that these agents should just do their jobs, some might even call it cheesy, but I think it is a nice gesture and it probably made many positive impressions first time BART riders such as kids. I look forward to seeing the leprechauns cut-outs and strings of shamrocks in a few weeks!

Just what I was hoping for

There definitely has been a cold or flu bug going around. I started feeling sick last Thursday night and was feeling full symptoms on Friday (stayed at home). I had hoped for the weekend to recover completely but a busy schedule on both Saturday and Sunday made that nearly impossible.

So, going to work today, I felt better, stronger, but still slowed and dulled by some lingering effects of the cold. I really did not want to go to work but there is just too much going on that I cannot let things sit one more day.

While feeling miserable waiting for the BART train on the platform, I was pleased to see that the train is perfectly on time. As the train arrived, I was very relieved and happy to find an empty seat to rest of aching body on!!!! Wow, can this be? Something I wished for on BART actually happened before my eyes. I can't even tell you how ecstatic I was to have a seat throughout the ride.

Wet seat = tainted seat

There was an empty seat today amidst a crowded train. When situations like that happen, you just know there must be something wrong with the seat before seeing it. This one had a wet circle with a wet napkin on top of it. Throughout the entire ride, the seat was left unoccupied. People walked in, gravitated towards the one empty seats, saw the wetness, and remained standing.

Just when I thought no one in their right minds would sit down on this wet seat and risk sporting a wet stain right in the middle of their rear, a young man in light blue denim looks at it, shrugs, and plants himself on top of it.

I never got to see whether he had a stain or not. But knowing the color of the denim, and that denim is very absorbent, I am willing to bet that the back of his jeans certainly sported a lovely wet spot for at least 1 hour.

Elections observation and an answer about homeless riding BART

I noticed throughout my journey to work today that something is clearly absent! While I see loads of "Obama" signs and "Obama" volunteers on streets, stations, and exits, I have not seen ANY "Hillary" supporters. I've even seen some "Mitt Romney" and "McCain" signs and supporters along the way but what happened to Hillary Clinton's crew? I was really surprised by the lack of presence of Hillary supporters. Interesting to see what will happen at the end of the day.

Now, the answer about homeless. While I sometimes see homeless on BART, I rarely get to see how they actually get through the turnstiles. I once saw a homeless man sneak through the handicapped entrance without being noticed. Today, there was a homeless man sleeping in my train. I didn't notice him until he exited the train at the same time I did and was walking in front of me up the escalators (side note: it was a painful walk up being right in back of him. His scent was powerful to say the least.) I was wondering if he had a ticket with him and how he was going to exit the turnstiles as the ticket agent was right in front of him.

Apparently, it didn't matter that the ticket agent was in front. The homeless man walked nonchalantly in back of a line of people waiting to place their ticket in the turnstiles. In a blink, he effortlessly slipped his body through as someone in front of him was exiting. The person didn't even notice that another body was about 1.5 inches in back of him and shadowed his footsteps through the turnstiles. Very slick move. I guess that is one way to find a warm shelter.

Another reason for adding plexi-glass blockades

I've just returned to the Bay Area from a trip in Asia. I left a rainy Hong Kong to come back to a hailing Orinda. It is great to be home, however. If you read my previous post about the Hong Kong MTR, you'll know that one of the listed reasons was that there are glass doors that protect passengers from the trains and tracks. The glass doors release only once the train doors open.

Don't think we need it on BART? Whether it's accidental or intentional, here is one good reason why. Of course I know the negative implications of making BART more safe. To do something like that, BART will likely hike fees (again), say they'd rather put resources into security and train improvements (yes, much needed), and of course, passengers should have the sense to not get too close to the tracks and if they don't they should suffer the consequences.

I've seen groups of kids, joking around with each other, getting way too close to falling into the tracks. I've seen people slip in the train, falling dangerously close to the tracks. Furthermore, the open tracks are treated like trash cans by others. Why leave them open?

I'm not saying BART must have plexi-glass doors. I definitely do not want to see fare raised by $1 per leg just to get this done. Besides, there are too many things that BART needs to improve on.

It's just that after my recent trip and transit experiences abroad, I need to ask why not us?