Tag: bart
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My own unique piece of BART history
You may have been on it, or you may have seen it go “rohr”-ing past you. What could it be? I recently purchased a number plate from a retired BART train over at RailGoods.com. This was the plate on a B-type BART train car — specifically car number 1648 — made by Rohr Industries in…
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NO cross-country skiing on BART
Last week I got on BART, turned around, and noticed an unfamiliar new rule: “NO cross-country skiing” according to a sticker on the door. Now at first glance this seems pretty reasonable, but of course it’s one of those rules that should go without saying. For example nobody needs to be told that on BART…
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There is now official BART merchandise, for some reason
Although BART ridership decreased significantly due to the pandemic, at some point in 2020 official BART merchandise became available. Online store Rail Goods launched sometime last year with a wide selection of official BART merchandise as well as a somewhat smaller selection of official Capitol Corridor merch. Now don’t get me wrong. The BART “Brio-style”…
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Why I have reservations about the Measure RR Caltrain tax (but I’m voting for it anyway)
Recently the three main counties that serve CalTrain were asked to add an additional sales tax to fund CalTrain service. This was initially rejected by San Francisco leading to some finger wagging, before ultimately landing on the ballot. Many transit advocates decried San Francisco’s decision, but let me point something out: of all the counties…
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Every single BART plaque I could find in San Francisco
“Always read the plaque” is the unofficial motto of one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible. Following that advice, over the past months I’ve been tracking down every BART station plaque located within San Francisco as a scavenger hunt of sorts. Conventional wisdom tells us there are eight BART stations in San Francisco, so there…
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Ambient sound of new and old BART trains
Now that BART’s new “Fleet of the Future” trains have been in regular service for a while, I’ve found myself on them dozens of times. The extra set of doors in the middle is my favorite feature, followed by the significantly improved ventilation. The live map is nice too. But the biggest change is the…
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Future transbay tube fantasy planning
Recently there’s been talk of building a second rail tube under the San Francisco Bay. This new tube would be larger than the existing transbay tube and serve two major purposes: If we put aside the question of when to build this second crossing the next question is where? There’s no pressing reason to build…
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Narrow streets, remixed
Over at Steve Dombek’s Narrow Streets SF website, he proposes undoing America’s 20th century mistake of building ultra-wide streets here in San Francisco. Instead, the land would be sold off to build new housing, and we’d be left with traditional (or “narrow”) streets like you find in the rest of the world. Naturally, this idea…
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BART needs platform walls
Recently we’ve had a number of cases in and around San Francisco where someone was hit by a train in a subway station. These tragedies — whether intentional suicides or simply accidents — have become common enough that we really should be doing something about it. It’s only fair for everyone involved. Fortunately there’s a…
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BART to the future fleet
Today BART launched the first of several workshops with a full-scale prototype of their new train cars. They’re looking for rider feedback before finalizing the design. Most of it seems pretty nifty: BART says their new trains will be quieter on the inside and have better air conditioning, but these features weren’t part of the…
About Eric
Travel, movies, comedy, tech, and whatever I find on the streets of San Francisco.
Contact: mrericsir “at” gmail.com
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