BACKGROUND:
- The Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) links BART’s Coliseum/Oakland Airport Station with the Oakland Airport via an automated people mover system elevated above–and therefore out of the way—of traffic on Hegenberger Avenue.
- Trains would leave every four to five minutes between the Airport and BART, replacing the inconsistent AirBART bus system. It would be like the AirTrain at the San Francisco International Airport, providing Oakland International Airport a state-of-the-art train to plane connection.
BUDGET:
- It will cost about $500 million to build the OAC.
- The funding for this project comes from collaborative pot of resources and cannot be used to help BART resolve its $310 million four-year deficit.
- Thanks to President Obama’s stimulus plan, this shovel-ready project has been targeted for an infusion of $70 million in American Reconstruction and Recovery Act (ARRA) funds. To further close the funding gap, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) shifted another $70 million in local funding and to fund the balance needed, the BART Board agreed to finance up to $150 million through a loan with the Federal Transit Administration.
FARES:
- The cost to ride the OAC has not yet been determined.
- BART expects that the fares for the OAC will be comparable to the fares customers pay on AirBART. Currently, the fee is $3.00 per ride.
- The $6.00 fare that OAC detractors protest was a conservative estimate projected if we are still facing an economic crisis and a minimum number of riders use the OAC, it is not the actual fare proposed.
BENEFITS:
- When evaluating the benefits, the OAC is just the project to fulfill Oakland’s economic, environmental and expansion needs.
- A bus in local traffic is subject to the same conditions that the AirBART bus faces now. An on-the-road option just can’t provide the consistency and comfort an elevated connector can in order for travelers to get to the Airport on time. Nor will it have the same environmental impact or create the thousands of jobs as what we propose.
TRIP TIME:
- Depending on which people mover technology BART chooses, the trip time on the OAC will be between 12 and 15 minutes. That's including getting off your BART train, walking to the people mover station, riding the connector and walking into the terminal.
- The projected 2020 timing for an AirBART bus is 24 minutes and a Rapid Bus at 20 minutes.
- Opponents of the OAC claim a bus ride takes nine minutes, but that’s timing just the ride itself, it does not factor all the other elements it takes to get you from BART to the terminal.
EMPLOYMENT:
- The project will create 5,300 direct and indirect jobs in a city that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the State of California. The unemployment rate in Oakland hit 17% in July 2009 compared to 12% in Silicon Valley and 9% in San Francisco.
ENVIRONMENTAL:
- This project will take cars and diesel powered buses off Oakland streets, resulting in cleaner air and a reliable connection to Oakland’s international airport.
Last Updated: February 23, 2010
