BART Planners Look For Solutions To Station Overcrowding With Study
OAKLAND (KCBS) — Some BART passengers are beginning to question whether the system really is "rapid transit." Amid complaints about overcrowded cars and long delays, the agency is trying to find a fix. Riders, however, shouldn't expect anything soon.
Ridership on BART is up. Last August, BART averaged 418,000 riders per weekday—27,000 more than the previous year. Duncan Watry, the principle planner for BART, told KCBS that the rapid transit agency has already started an 18-month study to make improvements.
"We hope to come out by the end of 2015 with an implantation plan that is phased, that looks at different improvements over time," he said.
Passengers often end up stranded, especially at the Montgomery and Embarcadero stations in San Francisco as the trains head east into the Transbay Tube.
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"There are a number of things we can address. One is space on the platforms. Another is vertical circulation, or stairs, escalators and elevators—moving people up and down from the platform up to the concourse level," Watry said.
BART said it wants riders' input and will set up information gathering booths at the end of October at the Embarcadero and Montgomery stations during the morning and afternoon commute.
While some say that just adding more trains or cars will alleviate overcrowding, Watry said that idea was being handled by a different study.
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