BART Continues to Move Forward With Oakland Airport Connector Project
Why the hell is BART still trying to do this?
The community DOES NOT WANT IT.
It would RAISE COSTS for riders.
They have been denied funding multiple times.
Why do they keep trying to force this bad idea through?
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On July 22, the BART Board of Directors is scheduled to vote on a new funding package (Oakland Airport Connector Executive Decision Document and presentation) for the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project, which will include re-authorizing the General Manager to enter into two contracts - one to design and build the OAC and the other to operate it. These are the same firms the Board awarded the work to in December 2009.
Prior to the July 22 Board meeting, BART staff provided the Board with a report called the Oakland Airport Connector Public Participation Summary and appendix for their review and consideration. The report contains the results of the outreach the agency did in June as part of it's work to gather input from low-income, minority and limited English speaking communities as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. BART held five community meetings to provide updated information about the status of the Oakland Airport Connector Project to East Oakland residents and Port of Oakland and Oakland airport employees. The meetings also provided an opportunity for community members to express any questions or concerns they had about the project. The report describes the meetings, reports the comments and questions received, and summarizes community opinion expressed during the meetings. A short survey was also distributed to meeting participants. The full report and its appendix is available.
http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/oac/index.aspx
Lots of folks don't take BART
Lots of folks don't take BART to OAK because of the uncertain bus connection and the sketchiness of the area outside of the station at night. A direct airport to platform connection in a guaranteed time would do a lot to alleviate that. Folks who take AirBART won't stop because the cost may be $3 more after they've paid hundreds for a flight.
The airport connector BART
The airport connector BART wants to build will drop you off in the airport's parking lot! Not inside the airport itself like the Airtrain at SFO does. Anyway I think if OAK wants an airport connector they should foot the bill, not BART.
The walking distance to the
The walking distance to the check in counters from the premium parking is roughly the same as AirTrain's stops' distance, and far closer than the SFO station.
Boy could it be any more
Boy could it be any more obvious that you're a BART lackey?
Let me guess, are you on the BART Board Of Stupidvisors?
I've used that bus dozens of times at all times of night and day and never had a single problem with it. It always showed up within 10 minutes, and there were never any safety issues. You can see where the bus pulls up from inside the station, so if you're worried you can just wait someplace where the Station Agent can see you and go to the street when the bus pulls up.
Up to thirty minute rides
Up to thirty minute rides during commute hours and frequently packed buses with not enough luggage space on potholed streets should be reason enough.
So? Build a dedicated
So? Build a dedicated transit lane, give signal priority to the buses, etc. You'd still come in WAY under the cost of this boondoggle of an OAC. Or build a 98th St station, and run a connector from there to the airport and STILL come in at under the cost of this boondoggle of an OAC. A boondoggle of an OAC which, will, rip up all of the fresh improvements made to San Leandro. The current proposal is a piss poor design.
THANK YOU!!!! Dedicated bus
THANK YOU!!!!
Dedicated bus lanes would cost much less to install and maintain, and would provide the same level of service.
Exactly, all you need to do
Exactly, all you need to do is to paint the road differently, mount cameras in front of the buses to take pictures of people's license plates who drive in the bus lane so you can slap them with a $500 dollar fine and time the signals. I don't know why BART didn't think about this. The only thing worst than the connector is MUNI's 1 billion per mile Central Subway which only goes to the edge of Chinatown!
The bus is a hassle. You
The bus is a hassle. You have to have a separate exact change ticket or exact cash with you, plus all the things about the traffic and the packed buses etc. Oakland isn't that large of an airport, it's not like SFO where you have to take the internal train after you arrive on BART because it's so far away. Just walk across the lot, it's not that far. It doesn't take 15 minutes to walk across the lot, unless it's way further away than I think.
On the other hand, the AirBART bus is about the same as going to an off-site parking lot, so it's probably just fine. If I'm going to do that, I'll just drive, it's faster than BART anyway and I can leave whenever I want
I always hear people talk about dedicated transit lanes. So it's better to put the entire corridor between the freeway and the airport under construction to build a new lane, or take away one of the lanes that's already there on a busy road?
Also, AirBART is $3.00. The connector would be $3.00. That's not trying to rip you off for more money, it's ripping you off for the same amount of money.
Last time I checked they were
Last time I checked they were talking about charging people $6 per trip for the connector, making a round trip cost of $12 instead of $6.
Where are you getting those numbers from?
And BART + AirBART = roughly $6
Paying for long-term parking costs a hell of a lot more than that.
http://oaklandairportconnecto
http://oaklandairportconnector.com/mythsfacts/
Q: How much will the Connector cost?
A: The Connector will cost an additional $6 each way ($12 round trip) and will shave an estimated 5 or so minutes off the current AirBART trip. (AirBART is an express bus covering that route today. It costs $3 each way.)
The idea isn't that walking
The idea isn't that walking across a parking lot is terrible and awful. It's that we're sucking$500 million out of regional transit monies, and $12 out of the riders' pockets in order to walk further. That's a bit absurd. As for ripping up the entire corridor, just how do you think the OAC would be built?
Quite frankly you don't necessarily need to do grade separated bus lanes. Giving signal priority to the buses (which may involve digging up the intersections, depending on the traffic signals already there) would be a big, easy win. If that doesn't yield enough of a benefit, then yeah, sure, rip away.
As for the fare, the current estimate is for $6 per trip. This is, however, an estimate. BART would like you to believe it could be $3/trip, but they'd also like you to believe some wildly optimistic ridership projections. These optimistic ridership projections were based on the idea that there'd be local stops along the OAC as well, and that the OAC would provide local service to an underserved area. Of course, in the name of cost cutting, the local stops have been eliminated from the plans but the ridership projections have not been adjusted downard.
Not to mention that they are
Not to mention that they are using the same flawed ridership projections that lead them to think that the SFO extension would be profitable, when it's turned out to be a huge money pit with ridership far lower than expected due to their ridiculous surcharge.
And your comment about $3
And your comment about $3 (acutually SIX round trip) just shows this scheme for what it really is - another pathetic attempt to squeeze more money out of riders!!!
If people are willing to pay
If people are willing to pay for AirBART instead of taking the AC 73 which takes about the same amount of time and stops every 15 minutes, it's hard to imagine they won't be willing to pay for the new service.
More proof that BART
More proof that BART employees think their customers are idiots.
I've heard operators give
I've heard operators give people the choice to take the 73.
I take back what I said
I take back what I said then!
I never heard one say that but cool if they do.
I believe Barbara Lee wanted
I believe Barbara Lee wanted it.
GOD DAMN
GOD DAMN IT!!!!
http://cbs5.com/politics/bart.airport.connector.2.1820174.html
"BART Approves New Oakland Airport Connector Plan"
"BART directors on Thursday approved spending more of the transit agency's own money to finance the Oakland Airport Connector project after federal stimulus funds were taken away earlier this year following a civil rights complaint.
The BART board approved the new financing plan for the $484 million project, which would build an elevated rail system between the Coliseum station and Oakland International Airport."