Re: [Ebbc-Talk] Lessons for BART bike access from Caltrain and SFBC (WAS: Fwd: my presentation from BBATF meeting)

Jon et all,

The constraint is boardings at the downtown San Francisco station, hence
BART's desire to have 3-door cars. In the peaks the fleet is currently fully
utilized, and they simply don't have enough cars to have all trains 10-car
(but they should plan for this- 8-car vs. 10-car 20% increase in capacity).
This is no excuse for their sometimes ridiculously short trains off-peak and
weekends! At our BBATF meeting it was conceded, even by Shirley Johnson
(excellent presentation and argument), that there would probably always need
to be some blackout period for bikes (10-car trains is the limit). It was
also accepted that 1 bike probably takes up 2 passenger spaces, excluding
the rider! You just can't squeeze bikes in like people. 

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jon Spangler
Sent: 10 April 2012 23:49
To: Nick Pilch
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Ebbc-Talk] Lessons for BART bike access from Caltrain and SFBC
(WAS: Fwd: my presentation from BBATF meeting)

Nick,

You are correct that bottlenecks are a limiting factor--and there are a few
throughout the system, thanks to cost-cutting and other short-term thinking
40-plus years ago. 

The biggest one seems to still be the single, two-track Transbay Tube. 

Replacing BART's antique electronic train control system and adding the new
rail cars will both lead to shorter headways and permit shorter spacing
between rush-hour trains. (I have also ridden trains eastbound at 10 PM that
were only 4 cars long and were SRO-jammed.)

Bikes on BART system-wide in all directions will increase ridership but BART
needs to increase both its rush hour and its overall capacities, which will
take lots of cash. AndBART, like all transit systems, is severely
underfunded....

Many of us on the BBATF still believe that the best short-term solution is
to start ending the blackout periods now, with the expectation that
ridership system-wide will increase and the rush-hour crunch will eventually
be resolved--or at least improved--with our new cars, redesigning and
refurbishing the old ones, and updating as many BART stations and systems as
rapidly as possible.

BART needs to hear from more cyclists who ride BART than it has heard from
recently: EBBC and SFBC need to attend and speak up regularly at BART board
meetings, and those of us who ride BART need to keep letting BART know that
we:

a) like what BART has been doing to add more bike stations, more
inside-fare-gates bike parking, more bike lockers, etc., and

b) still want and need an end to the blackout periods, more and better
bike-friendly accommodations both at BART stations and on BART trains, bikes
on escalators, and more....

Those of us on the BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force can't do this on our
own: we need backup from riders like you.

Appreciatively yours,

Jon

 


On Apr 10, 2012, at 11:06 PM, Nick Pilch wrote:

> How about removing some of the seats so that bikes and the people that are
driving them can be in the same car?
> 
> I wish I knew more about BART capacity. It seems like BART is at capacity
during commute hours now. As someone who leaves Embarcadero in the
afternoon/evening heading towards the East Bay, I have to really game it to
try to get a seat. Most trains have many people standing and some trains are
packed to the gills. I don't understand why all commute hour trains through
SF are not 10 car. Lack of stock? Also, since SF is a bottleneck, and there
are only two tracks, this limits growth, I've heard.
> 
> At 3:03 PM -0700 4/9/12, Scott Mace wrote:
>> These are rehashes of arguments from 10 years ago and before. I remain
unconvinced that BART should remove all the seats from one car,
Copenhagen-style. But if the political will is there, seats could be removed
and the blackout could end. Then, that bike capacity will be maxed out too,
and the number of Bay Area commuters impacted by bike bumpings will
skyrocket from its current levels.
>> 
>> Scott Mace
>> 
>> At 12:32 PM 4/9/2012, Jon Spangler wrote:
>>> Cyclists,
>>> 
>>> Shirley Johnson, Ph.D, presented the results of the SFBC's "Bikes on 
>>> Board" campaign to increase Caltrain's bike capacity and ridership 
>>> to the BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force meeting last Monday, April 
>>> 2, (Two BART board members and BART General Manager, Grace Crunican, 
>>> were also in attendance.)
>>> 
>>> SFBC's experience with Caltrain indicates that BART could gain 
>>> significant ridership by ending its blackout periods and adding 
>>> additional bike capacity to BART's trains. Please take a look at it and
let the BBATF and BART Board know your views on this:
>>> 
>>>> ttps://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7qJ2svk6gEGRkthRWdkbFRUVml1cXZkS2J
>>>> LTWp2dw
>>> 
>>> Is it time to end the bike blackout?
>>> 
>>> Jon Spangler
>>> BBATF member representing Alameda County
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>> 
>>>> From: Shirley Johnson <dr_shirley_johnson-/[email protected]>
>>>> Date: April 3, 2012 3:43:41 PM PDT
>>>> To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 
>>>> [email protected], [email protected]
>>>> Cc: Andy Thornley <[email protected]>
>>>> Subject: my presentation from BBATF meeting
>>>> 
>>>> Hello All,
>>>> 
>>>> Here is a link to my presentation from last night's meeting. I added
some notes along with the slides.
>>>> 
>>>> https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7qJ2svk6gEGRkthRWdkbFRUVml1cXZkS2
>>>> JLTWp2dw
>>>> 
>>>> Thank you very much for affording me the time to speak to you. I was
very impressed with the level of engagement of BART staff and board members,
and I'm thrilled that BART is pursuing bike racks onboard trains. One
concern I have is that three racks per car may be insufficient. I'd
encourage you to review the notes I added to the last slide regarding number
of bike racks needed per car.
>>>> 
>>>> I sent the presentation link to Grace Crunican in a separate email
already. Please forward to others. I don't have everyone's email address.
Thanks!
>>>> 
>>>> With kind regards,
>>>> Shirley
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Jon Spangler
>>> Writer/editor
>>> Linda Hudson Writing
>>> TEL  510-864-2144
>>> CEL 510-846-5356
>>> [email protected]
>>> www.linkedin.com/in/jonmspangler
>>> www.twitter.com/jonmspangler
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the
mastery of life."
>>>  -Frances E. Willard, in A Wheel Within a Wheel: How I Learned to 
>>> Ride the Bicycle (1895)
>>> 
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Jon Spangler
Writer/editor
Linda Hudson Writing
TEL  510-864-2144
CEL 510-846-5356
[email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/jonmspangler
www.twitter.com/jonmspangler


"She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the
mastery of life."
  -Frances E. Willard, in A Wheel Within a Wheel: How I Learned to Ride the
Bicycle (1895)

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