Passenger Trains > article: bart/caltrain struggle while bay area roars w/drivers...

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit/bart-and-caltrain-struggle-while-bay-arbaea-roars-with-drivers/article_81e476a2-a726-11ed-a620-6be0a8aad909.html

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Scroll down a bit from the transit numbers article and you'll find an interesting article about the skills and attitudes required to keep the cable cars running.

Those numbers are bad, terrible, no good, and very bad in every possible way.  For BART, the 2022 average daily rider count was 130,381.  I found a report on their website that lists by Fiscal Year the average weekday exits (so may not be the same counts, need to figure that out), but you have to go back to FY1976 to have similar numbers!  Now if riders are 2x exits, then that's a little better, but still FY1997!  That's the year before I started working in The City.  BART is carrying about 1/3 of the passengers it used to before the pandemic.  Caltrain is carrying less than 20% of the passengers prior to the pandemic.  I don't know how those systems are going to survive without cuts to service hours, number of cars run, etc. or some huge influx of new funding that isn't fare based.  And it's not like you can cut back to prior year service levels when your staffing costs have increased, you'd have to cut even more to make up the difference.  The math is ugly no matter how you look at it.

The Bay Bridge is only 86% of pre-pandemic traffic, so there are some fundamental shifts going on across the board.  Transit is getting it the worst though.  Work from home is part of that, people leaving the Bay Area is another.  Heck, I'm part of both of those categories, though I did that a long time ago.  

To clarify, I'm not anti-transit.  I've used most public transit systems in the Bay Area as part of my commute or for fun while I lived there, or during business trips 'home' after moving to Utah.  I still try to use UTA here in Utah where & when it makes sense, but because I work from home, it's not an option I really need.  I just don't see how the current public transit finances are going to work in the long run without major changes, and that's concerning for the future of transit and those who rely on it.

Nathan

Most the old school workers in SF got pushed out for Tech. Now tech is mainly remote and we have thousands and thousands of layoffs in that sector. Also people don't have to stay in the expensive Bay Area anymore, so it is getting hit big time. Add in the disrepair for BART and the homeless issues and you have what you have.

Posted from Android

My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was seventy minutes today. It been clear for a few years now that if a worker is going to work, they are driving. No one wants to deal with the homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I live ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain, Samtrans transit center and I avoid the area due to a very large encampment that has to be transited and I'm a pretty big guy. Local radio and television have commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean it up or shut it down and save us the money.

ChrisCampi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> seventy minutes today. It been clear for a few
> years now that if a worker is going to work, they
> are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I live
> ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain, Samtrans
> transit center and I avoid the area due to a very
> large encampment that has to be transited and I'm
> a pretty big guy. Local radio and television have
> commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean it
> up or shut it down and save us the money.

If entire transit systems are shut down, how do people without motor vehicles get to work, school, medical appointments, and/or job training?

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ChrisCampi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> > seventy minutes today. It been clear for a few
> > years now that if a worker is going to work,
> they
> > are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> > homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I
> live
> > ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain,
> Samtrans
> > transit center and I avoid the area due to a
> very
> > large encampment that has to be transited and
> I'm
> > a pretty big guy. Local radio and television
> have
> > commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean
> it
> > up or shut it down and save us the money.
>
> If entire transit systems are shut down, how do
> people without motor vehicles get to work, school,
> medical appointments, and/or job training?

That's the thing, they don't! 

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ChrisCampi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> > seventy minutes today. It been clear for a few
> > years now that if a worker is going to work,
> they
> > are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> > homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I
> live
> > ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain,
> Samtrans
> > transit center and I avoid the area due to a
> very
> > large encampment that has to be transited and
> I'm
> > a pretty big guy. Local radio and television
> have
> > commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean
> it
> > up or shut it down and save us the money.
>
> If entire transit systems are shut down, how do
> people without motor vehicles get to work, school,
> medical appointments, and/or job training?

Right. So clean it up.

ChrisCampi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RuleG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ChrisCampi Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> > > seventy minutes today. It been clear for a
> few
> > > years now that if a worker is going to work,
> > they
> > > are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> > > homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I
> > live
> > > ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain,
> > Samtrans
> > > transit center and I avoid the area due to a
> > very
> > > large encampment that has to be transited and
> > I'm
> > > a pretty big guy. Local radio and television
> > have
> > > commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean
> > it
> > > up or shut it down and save us the money.
> >
> > If entire transit systems are shut down, how do
> > people without motor vehicles get to work,
> school,
> > medical appointments, and/or job training?
>
> Right. So clean it up.

exactly................

66

mbrotzman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> That's the thing, they don't! 

Who is the "they" and what "don't" they do?

ChrisCampi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Clean it up or shut it down and save us the money.

I personally witnessed "crazies" going off on unsuspecting passengers the past several months. The word has got around. Its not just dealing with "polite" panhandlers or chatty (but non-violent) drunks anymore. Road accidents rate don't matter when people are confronted with crazy people in closed quarters.

Failure of mass transit safety is a direct result of city mismanagement. Until that mismanagement is fixed, the clean up won't happen. I wish all transit users in the Bay Area luck - and since I still use it on occasion, wishing myself luck, too.
 

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/drug-overdoses-in-three-bart-stations-reversed-by-narcan/

66

ChrisCampi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RuleG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ChrisCampi Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> > > seventy minutes today. It been clear for a
> few
> > > years now that if a worker is going to work,
> > they
> > > are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> > > homeless takeover of the trains and buses. I
> > live
> > > ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain,
> > Samtrans
> > > transit center and I avoid the area due to a
> > very
> > > large encampment that has to be transited and
> > I'm
> > > a pretty big guy. Local radio and television
> > have
> > > commented on the issue. It's no secret. Clean
> > it
> > > up or shut it down and save us the money.
> >
> > If entire transit systems are shut down, how do
> > people without motor vehicles get to work,
> school,
> > medical appointments, and/or job training?
>
> Right. So clean it up.

Or. . . Let's stop believe clickbait articles that represent .00000000001 percent of daily transit riders.

portlander Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ChrisCampi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > RuleG Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > ChrisCampi Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > My weekly 40 minute trip across the bay was
> > > > seventy minutes today. It been clear for a
> > few
> > > > years now that if a worker is going to
> work,
> > > they
> > > > are driving. No one wants to deal with the
> > > > homeless takeover of the trains and buses.
> I
> > > live
> > > > ten minutes walk from my local Caltrain,
> > > Samtrans
> > > > transit center and I avoid the area due to
> a
> > > very
> > > > large encampment that has to be transited
> and
> > > I'm
> > > > a pretty big guy. Local radio and
> television
> > > have
> > > > commented on the issue. It's no secret.
> Clean
> > > it
> > > > up or shut it down and save us the money.
> > >
> > > If entire transit systems are shut down, how
> do
> > > people without motor vehicles get to work,
> > school,
> > > medical appointments, and/or job training?
> >
> > Right. So clean it up.
>
> Or. . . Let's stop believe clickbait articles that
> represent .00000000001 percent of daily transit
> riders.

Dont know about clickbait in this case. See it, live it.