Too Many Pittsburg Bay Point Trains After Power Outage
I figured the power outages in DT SF would cause a back up in trains yesterday, but why the hell were there so many Pittsburg Bay Point Trains?!? Between 5:20p and 5:40p at the Embarcadero station there were 5 P/BP trains, and three of them were IN A ROW! When the dublin/pleasanton train came at 5:40p (completely skipping the 5:25p train I was waiting for) it was packed. The P/BP trains weren't full at all. Even on a normal day with little to no delays there are still WAY too many P/BP trains, all with 10 cars, while Fremont and Dublin passengers have to cram into 1/2 has few trains with only 8 or 9 cars. Who schedules this crap?? I get on at Castro Valley, the second stop on the line, and most mornings standing for the 40 minute ride is my only option, so you can only imagine how packed the cars get as we head into Oakland. More cars and more trains on the Dublin or Fremont lines would certainly solve this problem.
Besides the power outage,
Besides the power outage, I've always felt that there are always too many Pitt/Bay Point trains all the time. I stand there and wait for either a Dubin or Fremont train and in that one cycle, there will be two trains for Pitt/Bay point. I don't get it either.
Matrix
Most Bay Point/Concord
Most Bay Point/Concord trains are jam-packed (SRO) from about 4:15 to 6ish. Not to say most trains aren't packed at that time, but the Bay Point line is the most heavily traveled in the entire BART system and BART has the raw ridership data to prove it.
Plus, I hate to say this, but the rich live out along that line, and BART does love to cater to the rich patrons every whim.
I think BART caters to
I think BART caters to anyone that rides regularly that pays $4+ per ride regularly.
Would you expect them to cater to the $1.40 folks over the peeps that pay more?
Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, if your ride is 8+ a day or more, they want you.
There are just as many rich
There are just as many rich patrons on the Dublin/Pleasanton line. I lived in Pittsburg from birth until I left for college, most of the people there are no better off than than those coming from the Oakland area. The Pitt/Bay Point line may have Walnut Creek and Orinda, but the Pleasanton, San Ramon and Danville riders on the Dublin/Pleasanton line are just as schmancy.
Maybe BART needs to go through it's data again - the amount of half-full trains I see leaving the embarcadero station going to Pittsburg is ridiculous compared to the "not-an-inch-to-move" trains I have to board going to Dublin that stay packed until Bay Fair. I still ride the P-town train on occasion - it's roomy, lots of seats, and even if I have to stand I get a seat after the second Oakland stop.
There are rich patrons on
There are rich patrons on the Dublin/Pleasanton line... But that doesn't stop them from running 4- and 5-car trains in the middle of the day along that route. On the other hand, on the Bay Point/Concord line, there is hardly ever a train that is not a 9- or 10-car train, day or night, weekday or weekend.
Obviously it's a heavily traveled route. Do any BART number crunchers who visit this site have any of that data that would back up this claim?
pittsburg line has most of
pittsburg line has most of danville's commuters, some of san ramon, all of alamo, all of walnut creek, lafayette, orinda. there are even some "schmancy" parts of concord, pleasant hill and martinez and you have commuters from berkeley hills as well. i would argue that there are not "just as many rich patrons on the dublin/pleasanton line."
that being said, i don't think bart caters to rich neighborhoods. i think they cater to ridership #s. for example, i exit the walnut creek station in the evenings. no matter what time of train i am on, literally half the train exits at that station. because of this, i am willing to bet that wc is pretty high on bart's list of stations when it comes to keeping them clean, renovated, assigning courteous station agents, etc.
Agents choose their own
Agents choose their own shifts by seniority. An agent in a bad station ends up with a thicker skin at Richmond or Fruitvale compared to an agent at say Orinda.
Stations are cleaned on a schedule. Bad stations get as much but not more than good ones.
Trash people trash those stations. Trashy stations actually get more police presence because there is more crime there.
BART should not spend more money at a trash station. If poor areas like mess their stations up.. let them..
Look at the trains from SF to Fremont, compare with trains Sf to Bay Point.. Same maintenance schedule. Better yet, look at Restrooms, you can tell what customers take care of the stations.
BART should spend money according to passenger flow.
It's a police job to catch or deter vandalism..
a shame we have individuals that claim rich areas get more attention. Poor areas get the attention, the attention of vandals..
The Bay Point trains are
The Bay Point trains are usually packed during commute, so they do get extra trains from 6a-8a and 4p-6p or so. You should see them unload/load at Montgomery/Embarcadero during those times! They are seriously paying BART's bills.
i think it may have had
i think it may have had something to do with an earlier problem at macarthur. i was on a pitt/bay point train around 2:30 (left work early because the electrical crap kept causing my computer to turn off) and got held up at 14th street for about 1/2 hour due to some alleged "police activity" at macarthur. for some reason they took our train out of service and sent it back to daly city. while we were sitting at 14th waiting for another pittsburg train, about 5 richmond trains, each 3 or 4 cars funneled through before we got another pitt train. i think the trains were held up earlier, causing the massive amount of trains later in the day.
by the way, does anyone know what the "police activity" was at macarthur?
Had to pull some stupid kids
Had to pull some stupid kids off the train.
How stupid?
How stupid?
Don't recall for sure, but
Don't recall for sure, but I'm thinking "lets roll one and light up right here right now on the train" stupid.
was their defense: "I was
was their defense:
"I was too stoned to know it was against the law" ?