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BART Strikes Tentative Labor Deal with Unions
BART management has reached a tentative deal with three of its five unions, totaling about 2,700 workers, averting a strike that would have strained the Bay Area's transit systems and gridlocked its roads. The agreement, capping four months of intense negotiations, affects the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 (SEIU), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU).
July 31, 2009
Local Advocates Mourn “Death of Transit” as Part of National Campaign
Transit advocates, transit riders, politicians, and religious figures mourned the continual underfunding of transit operations by staging a mock funeral for public transit above the 12th Street/Oakland BART station today. The event was tied to a national campaign led by Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT), the Transportation Equity Network and Transportation for
America to pressure Congress to provide funding for transit operations.
July 22, 2009
BART a National Leader in Real-Time Data Transparency and Development
While the dispute between the MTA and NextBus Information Services (NBIS) over how real-time bus data on NextMuni (a separate company from NBIS) is used and licensed continues behind closed doors in downtown San Francisco, across the Bay, BART has flung its proverbial doors wide open to third-party developers to use its real-time data in as many and as interesting ways as they can conceive. In fact, BART is a national leader in data transparency among transit operators, and was second only to Tri-Met in Portland to release its real-time arrival feeds to the public.
July 14, 2009
SFO Commission Calls BART Surcharge for SFO Workers “Unconscionable”
The San Francisco Airport (SFO) Commission asked BART today to waive the new SFO surcharge for workers at the airport, whom they assert cannot afford to ride BART to work now. The new surcharge increased from $1.50 to $4.00 on July 1st with the 6 percent overall fare increase approved by BART's Board of Directors.
July 8, 2009
CA Transit Operators Win in Court, But Face Challenge by Governor
A state appellate court in Sacramento ruled two days ago that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger can't continue taking money out of the Public Transportation Account (PTA) to help balance the budget, something the governor has done repeatedly while in office, costing state transit operators $1.19 billion in 2007-2008 alone. Many Bay Area transit operators might not have had to cut service, raise fares, nor stage epic battles with their unions if that steady source of funding had been allocated to them.
July 2, 2009
“A Lot of This is Just Theater” Says Source Close to BART Contract Flap
With BART and its unions agreeing on a nine-day extension to
contract negotiations, the fear of a strike that would incapacitate the
Bay Area's transit networks and gridlock its roads has been temporarily
alleviated, though ten days from now the entire region could be in the
same predicament if the gap between management and labor is not
bridged. What is clear is that the acrimony between those at the
bargaining table is intense and, judging from the tenor of public reaction in news reports and polls, it's clear the public has little patience
for the drama amid wider economic concerns.
June 30, 2009
One Week Left in Contract, BART Management and Labor Trade Barbs
With BART contracts expiring next Tuesday night and regional planning organizations urging Bay Area residents to create a contingency plan for getting to work if there is a strike or labor slowdown, BART management and labor representatives are accusing each other of bad-faith negotiations. Though they are bargaining around the clock and both sides insist they don't want to resort to a lock-out or a strike, rhetoric suggests those options are a real possibility.
June 24, 2009
MTC Asks: Are You Prepared If BART Workers Strike Next Week?
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) just sent over a press advisory suggesting that Bay Area residents prepare their contingency plans for getting to work starting next Wednesday, July 1st, in case BART workers don't get the contract they want and go on strike. Such an action would cripple the region's transportation network and send over 330,000 regular BART riders scrambling to find another way to travel, most likely forcing them onto already crowded freeways.
June 23, 2009
BART Sees Huge Revenue Decline As Ridership and Sales Taxes Plummet
BART's revenue picture didn't get any better today with the release of fourth-quarter FY2008 ridership and sales tax numbers, down 10 percent and 20 percent from the same period one year ago, respectively.
June 18, 2009