The Bay Bridge has had nearly an accident a day on the new S-curve that opened after Labor Day modifications of the span. There was another crash there Friday even though Caltrans added new safety measures on the curve during the recent six-day closure of the bridge.

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Running a public transit system is dependent on the labor of many workers, but what happens when one of those workers goes rogue.

 Read about a San Francisco Muni worker allegedly punching a teenage girl in San Francisco, and misdemeanor charges being filed against a BART train operator for allegedly making lewd advances to a female passenger he invited into his cab on a moving train. Read the rest of this entry »

As we in the Bay struggle with conflicts between cars and bicyclists sharing the same road, so does the public in Los Angeles County. Check out this story about a doctor on trial for four felony accounts related to a collision with some bicyclists who allege the physician tried to harm them.

“Though data suggest that cycling fatalities have actually fallen nationwide,” reads the LA Times story, “one new study suggests that the injuries cyclists suffer in traffic accidents are becoming more severe.” Read the rest of this entry »

You can’t put a price on the aggravation of being stuck in traffic. That comment from a Bay Area transportation official become the theme of my story today about the toll on the region from a six-day closure of the Bay Bridge for emergency repairs.

And much as that statement is true, we at the newspaper tried to take an admittedly crude stab at the cost of that aggravation. Our estimate: $7.5 million. This was based on an assumption that motorists who cross the Bay Bridge were delayed an hour a day in their commuting. Read how we made the estimate.

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Caltrans will close two of the four lanes on southbound Interstate 680 in Alamo for three or four hours today – starting at 10 a.m - to repair a hole in the pavement. A major rehabilitation of the entire freeway in the San Ramon Valley is being planned for summer of 2010.

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We invite our readers to post comments below about how the Bay Bridge closure affected them during the five and a half days the span was out of service. 

Did the closure change your travel plans? Did the closure try your patience? Was it understandable Caltrans took so long to fix a Labor Day repair that failed Tuesday? Do you feel comfortable traveling on the bridge after the repairs are finished?

Let us know below, and if you leave your name and city of residence, we may use excerpts of comments in a news story.

It was a deja vu experience for news reporters and motorists last night as the Bay Bridge was closed indefinitely to shore up a cracked bridge piece called an eyebar. It turns out that parts of the the Labor Day weekend fix – a giant metal splint - failed and crashed onto the bridge.

Caltrans said this morning it doesn’t know when the fix can be fixed, but officials expect it to be “days at the worst.” Read the rest of this entry »

Bay Area bridge operators have scheduled three public hearings on a proposed toll increase on seven state bridges. While bridge operators appear determined to raise tolls, they have many details to figure out.

Members of the Bay Area Toll Authority are wrestling with how to revamp tolls to do two new things: collecting tolls from car pools during rush hour periods on all seven bridges, and structuring Bay Bridge tolls so drivers pay more during peak periods, and less during in off-peak times.

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The view from the toll plaza may soon become even more unpleasant if a change contemplated for next year goes through: the end of free rides for car pools during rush-hour periods. And on the Bay Bridge, regular drivers not in car pools also may in for a shock: higher tolls during peak commute periods than at other times.

Do you have an opinion on the plan to increase bridge tolls and charge carpoolers during rush hour? Share your thoughts with columnist Tom Barnidge at tbarnidge@bayareanewsgroup.com.

AC Transit’s general manager is resigning, the agency announced late Friday afternoon in another development in a year full of pain for Bay Area transit in general and and the bus agency in particular.

The agency declared a fiscal emergency earlier this year and projected a $57 million operating deficit last June. AC Transit has been wheeling and dealing to prevent an impending impending cuts of 15 percent to bus service.

Rick Fernandez, who has served as general manager since 1999, said in a statement that he intends to spend more time with his family.