Thursday, June 30, 2005
BART's airport line a disaster
Two years after it opened, BART's new line to San Francisco airport still carries less than half as many riders as originally anticipated. San Mateo County's transit agency, SamTrans, agreed to subsidize BART's operating costs, but with ridership so far below projected levels, those subsidies are far greater than anticipated, and SamTrans owes BART about $10 million per year.
The BART system as a whole anticipates a $24 million annual deficit in F.Y. 2006 even after cutting more than 100 jobs, raising fares, and increasing fees to park at park-and-ride stations. Transit unions are threatening a strike because they want pay increases that BART can't afford to give them.
BART apologists still say that the point is to "give people more options to get out of their car." But why do people who already have plenty of options need one more when the cost is to cut bus service to low-income neighborhoods where many people have few options?
The BART system as a whole anticipates a $24 million annual deficit in F.Y. 2006 even after cutting more than 100 jobs, raising fares, and increasing fees to park at park-and-ride stations. Transit unions are threatening a strike because they want pay increases that BART can't afford to give them.
BART apologists still say that the point is to "give people more options to get out of their car." But why do people who already have plenty of options need one more when the cost is to cut bus service to low-income neighborhoods where many people have few options?
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