Dec 10, 2007 9:08 am US/Pacific
BART Riders To Pay More For Service Upgrade
OAKLAND (BCN) ―
Bay Area Rapid Transit riders will pay 10 to 30 cents more
per ride and see an increase in train service beginning Jan. 1, officials have announced.
The shortest BART trips will increase from
$1.40 to $1.50, and the longest trip, from the Pittsburg/Bay Point station to
the Millbrae
station, will increase from $6.30 to $6.60, according to BART spokesman Linton Johnson.
The 5.4 percent increase in fare is part of a
plan approved by the BART Board of Directors in 2003 in which fares are raised
every other year by a percentage based on inflation, according to officials.
The increased fare will bring the average price
of riding BART to about 21 cents per mile, according to a BART.
In addition to increased fares, an increase in
service will also begin in 2008.
Trains running after 7 p.m. Monday through
Saturday and all trains on Sundays will run every 15 minutes instead of every
20 minutes, according to BART.
Trains on Jan. 1 will run on a Sunday schedule,
according to BART.
Pittsburg/Bay Point trains will begin servicing San Francisco International Airport at all times, and Richmond
trains will begin running directly to the Millbrae
station on Jan. 2, according to BART.
The Dublin/Pleasanton line will replace the Richmond line in running directly to Millbrae on weekdays after 7 p.m. and on
weekends and holidays, according to BART.
Trains will no longer offer direct service from
Millbrae to
SFO, but a transfer will be available most times.
Trains running to SFO will also have an earlier
start time, as will trains on the Richmond
line, according to officials.
The changes will result in a six-minute
decrease in travel time for commuters traveling from Millbrae
to downtown San Francisco,
according to BART.
San Bruno, South San Francisco and
Colma commuters will have access to trains every 10 minutes instead of every 20
minutes, according to BART.
"Just as everyone is winding down with
their holiday gift giving, we're going to deliver our customers a goody bag of
great service. We hope our plans for richer service will put a big smile on the
faces of all our 360,000 weekday riders," BART Board President Lynette
Sweet said.
Riders interested in seeing how changes will
affect trips can visit the BART QuickPlanner at www.bart.gov and enter in a
travel date past Jan. 1, according to officials.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
