Bay Area commuters scramble for alternatives on Day 1 of BART strike

[DET63]

OAKLAND -- Commuters in the Bay Area were left scrambling for alternate transit options this morning after BART workers announced they are on strike, idling a train system that carries riders on 400,000 trips per weekday.
As the morning commute wore on, traffic on Bay Area highways and bridges experienced severe backups and lines for busses and ferry service began to swell. By 7:30 a.m., the Bay Bridge backup was reaching almost to Walnut Creek on Highway 24, and the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges were jammed , according to KCBS.

Workers from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 announced at midnight that their contract had expired without a new offer from BART, and then they walked across the street to start picketing at the Lake Merritt BART station.

"We're on strike. We're disappointed BART didn't make a new offer," said Antonette Bryant, president of ATU Local 1555.

More

See also:
BART strike Twitter feed
BART strike: Commute chaos rages on as strike begins with no end in sight
The Great BART Strike Race of 2013: A recap

 

[PRR 60]

Perhaps because of the holiday week and work hour flexibility, it sounds like auto travel in the Bay Area was not significantly affected.

From SFGate (Chronicle), 7/1/13:

By the end of the morning commute, however, it was plain many people had made arrangements that didn't involve driving, the CHP said. Freeways were crowded, but not gridlocked.

"It wasn't an unusually heavy commute," said CHP Officer Kevin Bartlett. "It seemed like any other day, aside from the BART strike. It just took a little bit longer, and I think people pretty well compensated for that."

Bartlett added, "I think if I just awoke today and didn't know there was a BART strike, I wouldn't have thought anything was different."

The full story is HERE.

 

[DET63]

Mercury News editorial: BART union demands are outrageous

What are striking BART workers thinking?
They're already the top-paid transit system employees in the region and among the best in the nation. They have free pensions, health care coverage for the entire family for just $92 a month and the same sweet medical insurance deal when they retire after just five years on the job.

They work only 37½ hours a week. They can call in sick during the workweek and then volunteer for overtime shifts on their days off. The rules exacerbate out-of-control overtime that in 2012 added an average 19 percent to base pay for station agents and 33 percent for train operators.

Meanwhile, BART faces a $142 million operating shortfall over the next 10 years. It already owes a $636 million debt for employees' pension and retiree health care benefits. Aging train cars and the train control system must be replaced. And BART faces billions of dollars of deferred maintenance and repairs.

 

[DET63]

BART strike leaves commuters weary, wiser for Day 2

Brace yourselves again, you sad, sorry commuters.
As the BART strike enters Day 2 with no negotiations in sight, expect a repeat of Monday's commuter chaos, with long lines at bus stops and ferry terminals and some of the worst gridlock in decades, with traffic jams so paralyzing in the East Bay that they make even seasoned carpoolers cry.

Oh, and another thing. Endure it amid a summer heat wave, when temperatures are expected to climb even higher into the triple digits Tuesday in some East Bay communities. Can you say crabby?

 

[user 1215]

FIRE THEM ALL!

I'm SURE there is a sufficient number of qualified applicants who will be willing to work for what the average American makes.

 

[SarahZ]

I feel bad that they haven't had a raise in several years, but I feel even worse for all of the people who might get fired or written up because they can't get to work on time (or at all) because of this strike. I also feel bad for the people who DO have transportation but have to spend four hours commuting instead of two.

 

[Ryan]

These two reports seem to be mutually exclusive.

BART strike leaves commuters weary, wiser for Day 2

Brace yourselves again, you sad, sorry commuters.

As the BART strike enters Day 2 with no negotiations in sight, expect a repeat of Monday's commuter chaos, with long lines at bus stops and ferry terminals and some of the worst gridlock in decades, with traffic jams so paralyzing in the East Bay that they make even seasoned carpoolers cry.

Oh, and another thing. Endure it amid a summer heat wave, when temperatures are expected to climb even higher into the triple digits Tuesday in some East Bay communities. Can you say crabby?

Perhaps because of the holiday week and work hour flexibility, it sounds like auto travel in the Bay Area was not significantly affected.
From SFGate (Chronicle), 7/1/13:

By the end of the morning commute, however, it was plain many people had made arrangements that didn't involve driving, the CHP said. Freeways were crowded, but not gridlocked.

"It wasn't an unusually heavy commute," said CHP Officer Kevin Bartlett. "It seemed like any other day, aside from the BART strike. It just took a little bit longer, and I think people pretty well compensated for that."

Bartlett added, "I think if I just awoke today and didn't know there was a BART strike, I wouldn't have thought anything was different."

The full story is HERE.

 

[DET63]

These two reports seem to be mutually exclusive.

BART strike leaves commuters weary, wiser for Day 2

Brace yourselves again, you sad, sorry commuters.

As the BART strike enters Day 2 with no negotiations in sight, expect a repeat of Monday's commuter chaos, with long lines at bus stops and ferry terminals and some of the worst gridlock in decades, with traffic jams so paralyzing in the East Bay that they make even seasoned carpoolers cry.

Oh, and another thing. Endure it amid a summer heat wave, when temperatures are expected to climb even higher into the triple digits Tuesday in some East Bay communities. Can you say crabby?

Perhaps because of the holiday week and work hour flexibility, it sounds like auto travel in the Bay Area was not significantly affected.
From SFGate (Chronicle), 7/1/13:

By the end of the morning commute, however, it was plain many people had made arrangements that didn't involve driving, the CHP said. Freeways were crowded, but not gridlocked.

"It wasn't an unusually heavy commute," said CHP Officer Kevin Bartlett. "It seemed like any other day, aside from the BART strike. It just took a little bit longer, and I think people pretty well compensated for that."

Bartlett added, "I think if I just awoke today and didn't know there was a BART strike, I wouldn't have thought anything was different."

The full story is HERE.

I noticed that, too. The Comical vs. the Murky Noose.

 

[BCL]

I feel bad that they haven't had a raise in several years, but I feel even worse for all of the people who might get fired or written up because they can't get to work on time (or at all) because of this strike. I also feel bad for the people who DO have transportation but have to spend four hours commuting instead of two.

I work in the private sector. I remember at one job (which I loved) I had no raise for years and even had to face a 20% reduction in hours furlough four about a half year. I got pay restored, but no raise and eventually got laid off and had one heck of a time finding a job with a poor job market. I even took a contract job away from home and my family, but am now at a stable, permanent position.

I tend to agree that sometimes with these contracts the transit agencies agreed to so much that sometimes there's a correction that needs to be made. It happens in the private sector all the time.