BART on verge of highest ridership ever

[marmar]

from Inside Bay Area:



BART on verge of highest ridership ever
Spike in gasoline prices credited with transit surge
By Erik N. Nelson, STAFF WRITER

Article Last Updated: 12/15/2007 07:47:09 AM PST


When Lisa Tose started her job in downtown Oakland in September, she could always find a seat on BART when she got on at Walnut Creek.

But as the weeks wore on, more and more commuters seemed to be filling up the seats alongside the health policy analyst.

"When the train would arrive, there would be very few seats and most of the people getting on at Walnut Creek would end up standing."

That includes Tose, who said it's been at least four weeks since she was able to find an open seat.

Commuters are turning to public transportation in record numbers as gasoline prices seem to have gotten comfortable at or above $3 a gallon.

Unlike past surges in transit ridership, this one doesn't have the help of a major freeway disruption like the Labor Day weekend closure of the Bay Bridge in August or the collapse of a MacArthur Maze ramp in April.

On Nov. 14 and Dec. 7, BART had its second and third biggest days, with 382,865 and 381,499 people inserting tickets on their way out of the system, respectively.

"This year's going to be our biggest year ever," said BART spokesman Linton Johnson, adding it would be on the heels of breaking the barrier of 100 million trips for the system's last fiscal year, which ended June 30. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_7731455?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

[nxylas]

1. I've noticed the same thing on my local bus system

The buses have been more and more crowded these last few months. Not sure if it has to do with gas prices or what.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. I can verify this from my own experience.

My closest BART stations in inbound order are Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, and Lafayette. There are a few seats at the first two and usually none @ Lafayette. From Lafayette to Embarcadero (first San Francisco stop) there are standees every day.