Published Tuesday, April 17, 2001, in the Contra Costa Newspapers
Commuters get on the bus, train
ACE paced Bay Area mass transit growth as ridership on 8 systems grew
6.2% in one year
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Times Staff Writer
With some of the nation's most crowded highways, Bay Area commuters
are boarding buses and trains in record numbers.
Annual public transit ridership figures released Monday revealed a
6.2 percent increase from 1999 to 2000, nearly twice the national
average of 3.5 percent.
Rail posted some the biggest jumps because of added trains, including
the popular Altamont Commuter Express with a 66 percent hike and the
Capitol Corridor with a 51 percent increase.
BART, which is carrying an unprecedented number of new passengers,
saw a double-digit increase of nearly 13 percent.
Why does Mark Altenberg of Berkeley ride the Capitol Corridor train
to his Silicon Valley job each weekday?
"Just drive down Interstate 880 one morning, and you'll see why,"
Altenberg said. "I would go crazy if I had to drive."
For Yolanda Doleman, relief is spelled "ACE." Like thousands of Bay
Area workers who find affordable housing in the Central Valley, she
lives in Stockton and works in San Ramon.
"People love ACE," Doleman said. "You avoid the traffic. You can
relax. It's convenient. People can talk to each other. Some of those
cars really party in the morning."
Todd Ojo, a 25-year-old accountant, called using BART "a no-brainer."
"It's more environmentally friendly (than driving) and it's cheaper,"
said Ojo, of Walnut Creek. "It just makes sense, frankly."
Ojo, Doleman and Altenberg have plenty of company.
Public transit ridership is up across the nation for the fifth
straight year, according to the American Public Transportation
Association.
Road congestion, rising gas prices and the booming job market have
contributed to the growth, the group says.
"Americans are taking public transportation because they know it is a
smart choice," said William W. Millar, APTA president.
And for the first time since World War II, growth in public transit
use is outstripping the growth in driving.
Auto use grew 11 percent from 1995 to 2000, according to figures
released last week by the Federal Highway Administration, while
public transit use grew 21 percent.
"Our love affair with the automobile may not be over, but as record
congestion and two-hour commutes become the norm, we're clearly
trying to find convenient alternatives," said James Corless who is
with the Surface Transportation Policy Project's San Francisco office.
Despite the growth, the Bay Area's public transit system remains
inconvenient and unavailable for thousands of potential riders, a
local environmental group says.
The Oakland-based Bay Area Transportation And Land Use Coalition is
among several advocacy groups calling for government to spend less on
highways and more on public transit.
They are lobbying the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which
is revising its 25-year transportation plan for the Bay Area and
writing a rail expansion policy for BART extensions.
"These numbers buttress what transportation and environmental groups
have been saying for years: 'If you offer people a reasonable
transportation alternative, they will use it,'" said Stuart Cohen,
coalition spokesman. "And if more people ride public transit, it will
make the roadways less congested for people who drive."
In particular, the coalition wants a regional express bus network
rather than the more costly BART extensions into Livermore, Antioch
and the Silicon Valley.
Staff writer Katie Oyan contributed to this story.
Lisa Vorderbrueggen covers growth and transportation. Reach her at
925-945-4773 or lvorderbrueggen@cctimes.com.
|