BART comes up with another big windfall - $4 million MORE in budget surplus
BART officials announced Wednesday that they ended the last budget year with about $4 million left over. It's the second bit of budgetary good news for the transit agency, which had been planning for a deficit when the state unexpectedly doled out transit assistance funds, leaving the agency with a $4.5 million surplus.
The transit agency's Board of Directors meets today, but is not scheduled to decide how to spend the extra $8.5 million for another two weeks. Last month, the board decided to hold off on an earlier decision to temporarily reduce fares after a survey of passengers found that few favored the idea.
Board President James Fang, who had promoted the fare rollback, said he is now undecided, but supports the idea of somehow rewarding BART riders either with fare cuts or service improvements.
Carter Mau, BART's director of planning and budgets, said the end-of-fiscal year surplus was due largely to higher-than-anticipated sales tax receipts. But in a memo to the board, General Manager Dorothy Dugger cautioned that it is too soon to tell if the increase is due to an improving economy.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/11/MNOT1ESMO9.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0wOuAaObg
THey need to CLEAN THE DAMN
THey need to CLEAN THE DAMN SYSTEM and finish removing the carpet from ALL THE DAMN CARS and increase security to STOP FARE EVASION.
They already did a study and have the results that PROVE THIS IS WHAT RIDERS WANT but will they do anything about it?
HELL NO.
They will probably commission another damn study!!!
It's just BART's pattern.
It's just BART's pattern. During employee contract talks BART is always broke, down to its last dime, dangerously close to going under, etc. Then, a couple months later, the Board sneaks itself a cost of living raise (just like they did recently). Next up, some management increases and promotions. Then, more money is found. This abundant flow of cash will last for 3 1/2 more years when, once again, BART will be "broke".
And people fall for it every
And people fall for it every time.
I was not a regular BART
I was not a regular BART rider back in 2005, which I assume is when the last salary negotiation was. During the mid-2000s economic boom, did BART still cry poor during labor negotiations?
I have to admit that I was torn during the most recent round of salary talks. Like other riders, I was annoyed by fare increase, dirty trains and reduced service, and that made me feel like the BART unions were really overreaching. But I have to be a little bit suspicious when BART all of a sudden has a multi-million dollar surplus so soon after declaring how broke they were.
It sounds like a lot but it's
It sounds like a lot but it's not really that much.
Even as big as the surplus is it would have only been a 3% decrease in fare prices for 1 or 2 months.
Sounds like a lot to us but everything at BART is so expensive it isn't much.
BART Delay due to Equipment
BART Delay due to Equipment Problem On Train; BART Delay due to obstruction on track. BART needs to fix the system!!!
I was appauled to see $100,000 of the last surplus going for Station Agent Customer Assistance Improvement.
Like these current train cars are even going to last until 2017 or whenever the new batch is supposed to be implemented.
Why not run longer trains at night instead of squishing us in like sardines on the 11:34 and 11:59 trains; Why not put that train you took out back in. BART TOTALLY SCREWED THE NIGHT WORKERS WITH ITS CUT BACKS.
Why the hell don't you run larger trains when there a Giants Game MORONS! ERGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Last Friday night was horrible. The train was packed, a bunch of gang bangers got on at MacArthur with their stinky pint of whiskey and their wanting to fuck caucsion bitches slang and you've got all these parents and kids on real nice, WHERE IS BPD on Friday nights anyway. Not on the dam trains that's for sure.
[_] Station Agent [_]
[_] Station Agent
[_] Customer Assistance
You can choose only one.
Neither choice will get you
Neither choice will get you any help 85% of the time.
Track noise is also on my list of things that could be fixed, especially after BART spent $17,000,000 on the second track grinder, although the old wheels on these train cars are just as responsible for that screaching track noise. Earphones don't even do any good any more. I don't understand why parents don't cover up the ears on their little babies; they just let them sit in the stroller and listen to that horrible loud noise going through the trans-bay and orinda tubes.
What about all the switching problems BART has had of late out in Concord causing delays? BART could fix that. I truly do NOT understand BART management at all.
I'm having fun counting mice at Montgomery while waiting for the train.
the noise has gotten so bad
the noise has gotten so bad that my noise blocking head phones are almost useless now.
the few days i forget to bring my ipod i can hardly believe how horribly loud it is.
if they can't fix the track noise then they really need to add some sound insulation to the cars.
it is so loud that it has got to be damaging to people's ears.
Afternoon trains from Concord
Afternoon trains from Concord to SF have become chronically late. What makes it worse is the Fremont
train that I transfer to at MacArthur won't wait for more than a minute or two and then it's 15-20
minutes before the next one arrives. This happens at least once or twice a week.
I think it is really annoying
I think it is really annoying BART spends $6,000,000 on the Oscar Grant aftermath while BART cars, tracks, and switchers continue to degrade beyond belief. If BART would have had BPD on the dam train cars to begin with, the OG incident never would have happened. $6,000,000 would pay for a lot of police. I hope BART Management starts to get it that these OG type drunks actually cost the system MUCHO BUCKOS, they are on the system DAILY, and Station Agents should not allow Drunk and Disorderly people into the BART system because of BART's liability if one of these idiots gets hurt or hurts someone else.
If these OG types don't cause a fight, then they damage the trains, pee, barf or are running off with their foul mouths; they're always doing something negative. I don't mind buzzed people that have their witts about them but it's gone way beyond that on BART. I'm tired of seeing people freely passing around pints of stinky whiskey, etc., when I'm trying to get home after work. These people leave the station in that condition as well so they are driving drunk. BPD should at least be riding the trains everytime there is an event going on such as a Giants Game, concerts, New Year's, etc., and on Friday nights.
They've got $6,000,000 to blow on OG after math and tons of money to blow on all these earthquake construction projects I see going on taking up our valuable parking lot space but BART HAS NO MONEY to fix trains and fix the system???????????????????????????????????????????? What's up with that? Look at the trains when they are coming into the station; talk about I'm BEYOND ready for the junkyard look. They look pathetic and so rusted they could just break.
Maybe BART just should remove the "T" and call it "BAR" BYOB cuz that's about it. These trains look like their homeless passengers and smell like them too. It costs a lot to keep cleaning up after these pigs. Five Car trains after a Giants Game just fries me to no end. Reduced evening services, still fries me to no end. I emailed the BART idiots to let them know there is YET ANOTHER 7:45 p.m. Giants Game going on tomorrow night; hopefully, they'll get it and run a 10-car 11:34 and 11:59.
Actually you should say WE
Actually you should say WE payed 6 Million because of OG.. Remember, BART get's it's money from Taxpayers..
If they run short on money, they charge more, If they have extra money, they spend (hide) it on pet projects, or make it a political thing and spend it showing everyone what they spent it on..
$6 million doesn't buy that
$6 million doesn't buy that many cops, even of the kind BART has to settle for.
I don't think BART *wanted*
I don't think BART *wanted* to spend $6mil on the Oscar "Thug Life" Grant nonsense.