Would you or would you not use a --SIPPY CUP-- in public?

There's gotta be a good story behind it

but of course.

exhibit A: an excerpt from an article in the Contra Costa Times (04/01/2008)

...

BART Board of Directors member Lynette Sweet approved the Peet's deal because BART will gain revenue from rent and a percentage of sales.

"I'm in favor of any alternative revenue source," she said. "We need to earn some money to go along with the fare box and sales tax or we're going to be hurting soon. Alternative revenue sources are great and we're trying to do more with our stations."

However, she is concerned about sending a mixed message.

"It's a little scary to think that cup of coffee could cost you $250," she said. "It's the wrong message to give our riders.

"Don't drink coffee on the train, but by the way, you can buy it right here."

Her solution: Adult sippy cups.

Sweet wants to lift the drinking ban for riders using BART approved spill-proof, plastic cups typically associated with toddlers.

"These new cups are real popular right now," she said. "If we can get a license for them, it would be the only cup allowed on our trains. It's like not being able to bring your own popcorn to the movie theater."

She has already asked BART staff to do some research on the sippy cup subject. "These aren't going to be throw away cups, they would be reusable," she said.

...

and exhibit B from today's matier and ross (Chronicle) column:

Coffee shot: If BART board member Lynette Sweet gets her way, commuters will soon get mugged on a daily basis.

Coffee mugged, that is.

Sweet, who represents parts of Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties, wants BART to waive its decades-old ban on eating and drinking on trains and in stations. That way, patrons will be able to enjoy their morning or afternoon coffee fix - provided, that is, they drink from a spill-proof cup licensed by BART.

The sole idea behind the move, said Sweet, is to allow the cash-strapped district to earn some scratch from its newly licensed Peet's Coffee kiosks soon to open outside eight - and eventually as many as 16 - BART stations.

Just last week, BART announced that its first Peet's kiosk will open April 30 at San Francisco's Embarcadero Station.

But at the same time, the district also warned that it intends to crack down on commuters caught eating and drinking on station platforms and trains - with violators facing fines as high as $250.

Sweet sees the ban as a killer for coffee sales - and BART's cut of the concession's profits as well. "There's not a good chance people are not going to stand there (outside the gates) and drink their coffee," she says.

Hence, her idea of allowing Peet's vendor - Metropolitan Coffee - to sell a $6 reusable sippy cup, emblazoned with the BART logo.

Still, BART brass is worried about the potential for coffee spills. The agency's latest survey found riders wanting cleaner trains, which is one reason BART is gearing up to spend $2.5 million to reupholster 300 train cars.

No doubt, this pot of coffee is just starting to brew.

O BARTly?

I'm with the Brown Baggers. As you can see I'm bagging it all the time.. ah ha!!!!

Chrystal Flanders -"You're Saying it or You're Not! You're a Punk or You're Not!"