SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – With public transit ridership still anemic from the pandemic, BART planners appear to be scaling back an ambitious plan to crisscross the bay with multiple rail lines.
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The big question is, do you plan for transit ridership you think you'll have in 2040, or do you plan for the ridership you have now?
BART is hoping to see half the riders it had before the pandemic, but those numbers won’t be a reality until 2025. Now officials are considering whether they need a second Transbay Tube — a project that was announced late last year to bring better train service to the 21 county Northern California mega-region.
"One of the most exciting projects the program is exploring is a new Transbay rail crossing," a promo for the plan advertised. "That’s right! A second train crossing under the bay, and we want your input on where it should go."
However, now updated renderings show no second Transbay Tube and only one rail crossing that could link Emeryville or Jack London Square to the Salesforce Transit Center, with stops along Alameda and Mission Bay along the way. One rider said today's ridership just doesn’t justify the ideas for expansion.
The second tube is still in the planning stages, but with a projected completion in 2040, some BART directors are suggesting putting the project on hiatus while the system deals with a budget deficit when federal pandemic money dries up.
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