Reopening: BART Adding Trains As Workers Return From COVID-19 Shutdowns
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- BART officials will be adding extra trains Monday after weeks of service cuts because of a lack of riders during the coronavirus shelter in place.
The commute line will be adding three trains to the morning and afternoon commute on the Yellow Line between Pleasant Hill to Daly City. In the morning, the three added trains will originate at Pleasant Hill at 6:16 a.m., 6:46 a.m. and 7:16 a.m.
The added service will create a 15-minute frequency of commuter trains from 6 a.m. to 7:30am on BART's busiest line.
In the afternoon, the three added trains will originate at Daly City at 3:55 p.m., 4:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. --creating a 15-minute frequency between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Officials said for commuters looking to take advantage of the extra service, there is plenty of parking at Pleasant Hill in the early morning hours.
BART also announced last week accelered plans to convert more stations to Clipper-card sales only, as part of the agency's coronavirus reopening plan to increase contactless payments.
According to a statement by the transit system, five stations are eliminating sales of paper tickets this month, with additional stations being converted in the months to come. Eventually, the plan is for all stations to go Clipper-only.
Paper ticket sales will end at the Dublin / Pleasanton station next week, the Oakland Coliseum and Oakland International Airport stations the week of June 15th, Montgomery Street station on the week June 22nd and Civic Center station on June 29th.
Several stations have already converted to Clipper-only, including 19th Street in Oakland, Embarcadero and Powell in Downtown San Francisco, Downtown Berkeley and the station at San Francisco International Airport. Stations on the recently-opened Antioch extension have never sold paper tickets.
While paper tickets are not being sold at those stations, fare gates will still accept them to enter and exit. At stations with parking lots, one ticket machine will be available for those who need to validate with a paper ticket.
BART said it also plans to expand a feature in the agency's official app for contactless parking payments. Currently, the feature is only available at Antioch, West Oakland, Hayward, South San Francisco, and El Cerrito del Norte stations.
