BART Outage Sends Heavier-Than-Usual Traffic Over East Bay Bridges, Freeways
NORTH CONCORD (KCBS) -- East Bay commuters felt the impact of a BART service disruption Thursday morning, with heavier than usual traffic on bridges and highways.
Lines at metering lights moved more slowly as people sought other options in the face of a power issue that caused an outage on BART's Pittsburg-Baypoint line. BART's trains were shorter and more crowded Thursday due to the problems too.
"As people are looking for alternatives to BART on a day like today, that puts added stress for us on the roadway network for those passengers that have a choice. And, then you realize, transit is important for all of us, whether we use it or not," John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said.
Goodwin says that the 100,000 jobs that have been added in the Bay Area in recent years has added stress to local streets, and freeways, and ferries.
As for BART, "It has, over the course of 45, close to 45 years now, become an essential, foundational part of the Bay Area's transportation network," Goodwin said.
BART is soon accepting the first delivery of new cars, that it hopes will ease the commute for riders.
