Can BART Afford It's Expansions?

The Bay Area's 104-mile heavy rail system, BART, is planning major expansions. But many transit supporters, rather than cheering the new service and ridership the extensions would produce, are sounding alarms.

July 21, 2010, 12pm PDT | Irvin Dawid

Will BART's expansion plans lead to "cannibaliz(ation of) the core system", as suggested by one transit advocate?

Expansion from the current East Bay terminus of Fremont to San Jose/Santa Clara "would include 16 new miles
of BART trackway and six stations, (and) is one of four major extension projects currently being reviewed by the transit agency, with other projects expanding service to East Bay cities including Antioch and Livermore," reports Will Riesman for the San Francisco Examiner.

"We have a $7 billion shortfall when it comes to getting our current equipment up to a state of good repair," said BART Director Tom Radulovich, who represents San Francisco on the agency's board. "Expanding the system is taking discretionary money that could be used directly for maintenance services. By ignoring our maintenance, we create a system that is less safe, and less reliable."

Thanks to ClimatePlan

Full Story:

The high price of BART's expansion

Published on Sunday, July 18, 2010 in San Francisco Examiner