BART

BART staff has shot down a proposal from Director Robert Raburn to allow commuters to bring bicycles aboard the back cars of rush hour trains. In a memo [pdf] to the BART Board, Executive Planning and Budget Manager Carter Mau recommended maintaining the current policy, which prohibits bicycles aboard its most crowded trains during peak hours.

BART riders will no longer be squeezed alongside Muni tracks to get into Balboa Park Station. A new walkway connecting travelers to Ocean Avenue on the north side was unveiled Friday as one project in a host of efforts aimed at improving access to the busiest BART and Muni transit hub outside of the city's downtown area, though it may be just a baby step in the eyes of some advocates.

Anyone who has tried to go out on Friday or Saturday night to a concert or a show across the Bay from where they live understands the challenge posed by BART's relatively early closing hours. Some people try to find a couch to sleep on, some don't go out as long as they'd like or find themselves rushing to get that 12:15 am train. Still others choose to drive, and if the late-night swerving traffic on the Bay Bridge is any measure, some of them are partially intoxicated.

In the spirit of the holidays, BART will be handing out 120,000 free tickets to commuters tomorrow morning from 6 am to 9 am, what BART calls "an early holiday gift." Each ticket will be valid for one ride anywhere in the system during the next three weekends, December 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th. BART will give pairs of free tickets to 60,000 commuters at the Downtown Berkeley, 12th St./Oakland City Center, Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell and Civic Center stations, while supplies last.

The BART Board of Directors had a heated discussion today about most things Clipper, from the large number of EZ Rider customers who have yet to transition to the universal smart card, to the ease with which customers can scam Clipper cards on BART and other operators.

AC Transit riders took solace in the news on Tuesday that the agency plans to restore service that was cut twice this year after a labor arbitrator settled a contract dispute. Transit advocates worry, however, about the agency's long-term solvency and have called on elected officials to develop significant revenue measures for funding buses in the East Bay.

As part of the complicated funding swaps BART staff arranged with regional and state transportation planners to proceed with the Oakland Airport Connector following the loss of $70 million in federal stimulus dollars due to civil rights deficiencies, the transit operator was hoping to get a federal loan with a low interest rate and a favorable interest payment schedule.

As transit operators across the Bay Area transition to the Clipper card, one of the bigger challenges each faces is communicating the timeline to their most loyal customers, those who buy high value and monthly passes.