Few Passengers Wait In Line For BART Shuttle Buses On 4th Of July

OAKLAND (KCBS) — Bay Area Rapid Transit continued to provide free bus service Thursday, but the fourth of July holiday made the morning commute easier for anyone who needed to cross the Bay by car.

BART provided bus shuttles during the first three days of the labor strike, but with most people not working on the holiday, they may have had too many.

This was in stark contrast with the lack of shuttle buses that has been the case all week. BART was rolling a series of buses from five of its stations to San Francisco for the holiday and will return those passengers between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Three buses with 56 seats each stood at the West Oakland BART Station at 6 a.m., but only a dozen passengers needed a ride at that time. Though the departure was scheduled at that same time, buses were delayed, likely due to low capacity and to wait for more riders.

One rider who works in the Presidio said he had taken the ferry to work in the first few days of the strike, but was now willing to try the BART bus. Expecting huge lines he arrived to depart at 6 a.m. to start his 9:30 a.m. shift.

Other stations providing the limited shuttle bus service included Fremont, Dublin/Pleasanton, El Cerrito Del Norte and Walnut Creek.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)