BART strike? really?

There have been rumors floating around for the last few weeks that a strike of mass (or not so mass) proportions is potentially upon us San Francisco Bay Area residents, and according to the official Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) website, these rumors could quite soon become truth.

From BART:

The Amalgamated Transit Union has announced its intention to strike at the close of service on Sunday, after the BART Board of Directors voted Thursday to impose terms of employment on the union. A strike would halt BART service. The Board took the action after members of ATU, which represents train operators and station agents, rejected a tentative labor agreement and the board said an impasse had been reached in negotiations.

Looks like fun times ahead, huh?

The site then goes on to give a few handy dandy tips for dealing with this pretty large inconvenience, two of my favorites being…

“Adjust work hours – Ask your employer about adjusting your work hours to avoid commuting during peak traffic periods.”

and

“Telecommute – Ask your employer about working from home during some of the time you’d normally be in the office.”

I don’t know where BART thinks I work, but if it was the kind of place where I could just tell them my demands and they would submit to my every whim and will, life would be much much sweeter.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Bay Area public transit warriors though. Bart will be running a limited bus service between five of it’s stations. In the morning you have

Dublin/Pleasanton BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
Fremont BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
Walnut Creek BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
El Cerrito del Norte BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to San Francisco (Fremont/Folsom) (16 Buses)

and in the afternoon

San Francisco (Fremont/Folsom) to West Oakland BART (16 Buses)
West Oakland BART to El Cerrito del Norte BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Dublin/Pleasanton BART to (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Fremont BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Walnut Creek (10 Buses)

Each trip cost 5 bucks and parking at the BART stations is free during the strike. That’s good right?

Hooray for poor negotiation skills and greed!

So lovlies, do you rely heavily on BART to get you from point A to point B? Any ideas for turning shit into sunshine if this actually hits the fan? Do tell!

This entry was written by Audrey, posted on August 14, 2009 at 10:26 pm, filed under Bay Area and tagged BART, transportation. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone is prepared to have an amazing weekend!

If you’re going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend here are a few things that are going on, just in case you just have no idea what you want to get up to.

1. As usual the wonderful Alemany Farmers Market, and the Almaney Flea Market happen on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

2. On Saturday UC Berkeley is having its annual open house chocked full of music, lecture and workshop events, open for anyone who wants to check it out. See more info at funcheapSF.

3. Are you new to biking in SF? If so, this might be good for you. REI in the Soma is having a little 90 minute workshop about biking anywhere quickly and safely in San Francisco on Sunday morning. See more info at funcheapSF.

4. There will be a Wo Man Erotic Art show with music and djs at Bollyhood Café in the Mission District. I’ve never been to the Café, but it could be interesting. Anything involving Bollywood can’t be all bad! More info at funcheapSF.

5. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off its first day of festivities on Saturday in Japan Town. The festival runs all weekend and events include a tea ceremony, arts and crafts, and a parade amongst other things. More information available at NCCBF.org.

Whatever you choose to do this weekend relax, have fun and enjoy it!

photograph taken by Ozchin and used under creative commons.

This entry was written by Audrey, posted on April 10, 2008 at 4:30 pm, filed under Bay Area and tagged out & about. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.