Introduced during the pandemic in an area where many residents now work remotely, the new stations have failed to attract new commuters.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which serves the San Francisco Bay Area, opened two new stations this summer, hoping to draw more commuters to the system with a $2.3 billion extension to Milpitas and Berryessa. To bring BART to the South Bay, VTA, Santa Clara County's transportation authority, agreed to fund the extension and contribute to overall system improvements in exchange for keeping the proceeds from South Bay station fares and parking fees.
With COVID-19 bringing commuting down drastically as many Bay Area workers stay home, ridership to and from the new stations has been disappointing. VTA remains optimistic. "The systems were expanded looking out for 100 years — this is a long, long-term investment," spokesperson Bernize Alaniz told the Mercury News. With thousands of new apartment units going up around the South Bay stations, the agency expects a large influx of new BART riders in the coming months and years. Those who have used the new stations had positive reviews, citing them as "some of the nicest" they'd seen. And while many people can work from home during the pandemic, many essential workers still rely on public transit. Despite low current ridership, now is not the time to make cuts to essential transit services that serve the most vulnerable communities.
BART Service Cuts, Station Closures Could ‘Set Back the System 50 Years’
The agency could close dozens of stations and eliminate the Blue line between Daly City and Dublin-Pleasanton entirely.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
South Bay BART Extension Gets $5.1 Billion in Federal Funding
The grant brings the project closer to reality, but delays and cost overruns are putting a completion date more than a decade away.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association