Comments on: Behind the Scenes at BART Central

By: Metro Controller

Metro Controller — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:30:14 +0000

I ride BART everytime I come visit my folks, from Richmond to catch the Fremont train, based from observation on this seat. 3-cars off-peak seams like a good length given that even though it gets crowded at Berkeley, by the time it reaches Macarthur, the train practically empties as the majority transfers to the SF bound train. From Lake Merrit to Bay Fair, their is an overlap with the Dublin/Pleasanton train. The next mini-wave are the transfers from the Dublin/Pleasanton going towards Fremont. Three cars times 4 trips per hour has quite a bit of capacity during off-peak on a non-SF train. Having a Fremont-Richmond train longer than this consist seems like a waste of capacity, and undue wear-and-tear on the cars, and more miles accumulated means more cleaners, mechanics and chances for breakdowns even though operator, mainline supervision expenses are the same.

By: david vartanoff

david vartanoff — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:38:02 +0000

Greetings Erik! I too hear your wife on NPR–makes me think of you.

By: david vartanoff

david vartanoff — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:36:43 +0000

@ Mike, No PBP does NOT have the most riders. It has the highest relative spike in rush hour, but the vast majprity of ALL BART ridership is west of the hills and north of Coliseum–the urban subway section. Several years ago the CCTimes ran an editorial whining thatr CC County had greater populayion than SF but smaller representation on the BOD. Care to guess the ONLY CC station in top ten rider stat? ECDN w/ the bus hub from all over. The Richmond line fills its small trains all day long.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:17:23 +0000

Hi Erik! I hear your wife’s reports on NPR from time to time.

Fremont to Richmond seems to be the line with the shortest trains. At night, the trains are nearly always 3 cars, and can get quite crowded after the Berkeley Rep lets out, etc.

I do think the reason may be shorter trips plus more overlap. The Dublin line overlaps part of this line and the Pittsburg/Bay Point line overlaps another part. The Pittsburg line has the highest ridership and probably the longest trips.

By: Queen

Queen — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:33:08 +0000

Eric! We are honored to see from you, the original creator of this blog. Thanks for the insight.

By: former Capricious Commuter

former Capricious Commuter — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:07:54 +0000

I would add that on the Richmond-Fremont line, the rides tend to be shorter hops, meaning riders can put up with a little straphanging (if they had straps!) somewhat better than people riding from Outer Delta Exurb into Urban Corecadero. If we teach all these people to fold newspapers lengthwise into quarters, they’ll be able to read with one hand and hold on with the other. That will make the minutes pass more quickly.

By: Queen

Queen — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:55:09 +0000

Great point, Metro Controller! It’s v. useful to get an explanation from the inside. Maybe we should create a Public Transit game (PubTrans? Commuter Maze?) on this blog in which readers can be the controllers and make the decisions.

By: Metro Controller

Metro Controller — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:12:47 +0000

I work as a Controller for the Light Rail in Sac, a Mickey Mouse operation when compared to BART. But we have the same issues, just in different scales.I would be willing to bet that Pittsburgh/Concord trains are 10 cars are because there are no other service going in that direction, while those going to Richmond and Fremont can take other trains and transfer at Oakland. So from San Francisco to Richmond or Fremont, there are more trains (albeit, some with transfers) compared to those going to Concord. Just cause having X amount of cars, doesn’t mean they all have to be in service. Some are down for maintenance, repair, upgrade or held as spares, in case of train failure, track blockage, special events, or any other events that is beyond the norm. BART also has only so many cars that have operator’s cabs and they can limit the amount of trains that can be assembled (a BART train needs a cab car on both ends). As a controller, sometimes you have to pick your poison, do you run shorter trains (crowded) while keeping schedule or run the longer trains, with some trips very late or even cancelled (also causing crowded conditions). If these were your resources, what would you prefer?

By: Queen

Queen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:09:39 +0000

DensityDuck, I am delighted with your sobriquet and your comment! Can you elaborate a bit more about Measure B for those who are not (as it were) up to speed?

Caroline, your comment is a good one. The Queen herself has noticed this phenomenon; as it happens, I live in Richmond. This one deserves to be run by BART and perhaps addressed further.

By: Caroline Dalton

Caroline Dalton — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:48:21 +0000

It seems that the 10 car trains are serving the most favorite commuters. For instance, San Francisco to Pittsburg/Baypoint is almost always 10 cars during any commute hour. However, Fremont or Richmond do not get this favored treatment to and from San Francisco. Dublin/Pleasanton is spotty, but not as good as the main SF to Pittsburg/Baypoint. I would like to see people from east of the hills stand up and be squeezed just as much as the commuters from Oakland and Richmond. I bet if that happened, Bart would get more cars.