Thursday, October 25, 2012

BART is celebrating 40 Years! TRUE Rapid Transit!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great vid. I rode BART in its early days, and I came back to the northwest on my school vacations and wondered why we couldn't have something like that here. I lobbied my legislators at the time, one suggesting "BORT" (Bellingham to Olympia Rapid Transit) and saying how wonderful it would be. But, nothing happened, due to short-sighted legislators and voters. Now, we've got a fraction of BART: slower, not always grade-separated, and more expensive. Meanwhile, BART goes on, though the last time I saw it, about a decade ago, the cars were showing their age. Still, it sure beats driving to San Francisco - back in the early days it was just $1.35 each way to travel from Fremont (17 miles north of San Jose) to/from S.F. - even less to a baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum - a short walk from BART station up over the red lights of the brake-riding cars on the freeway below. Thanks for sharing this video!

Unknown said...

I enjoyed this video, having ridden BART a few times while living in San Jose during BART's early days. While I had to drive 17 miles to the nearest station in Fremont, it was still worth doing so vs. driving to - and in - San Francisco! The fare was only $1.35 each way in those days, and BART was a smooth ride. It was a great way to see Oakland As baseball games as well, as a walkway went to/from BART station to/from stadium, up and over the packed freeways full of brake-riding vehicle drivers. Now, it's finally getting extended towards San Jose after so many years - and they needed 2/3rds voter approval to do so, which they got! That speaks volumes for the importance and meaning of this system, and I'm glad that they're updating the interiors of their cars. The last time I went, about 1999, they were definitely showing their age. Still, it beats our slower, surface-riding, more expensive and less-extensive Link by light years!