BART proposes enhanced SFO service, airport parking
Enhanced train service to take effect in January 2008 pending BART Board approval
BART hopes to double the number of trains for many passengers using the five-station San Francisco International Airport/Millbrae Extension as well as to provide customers with long term airport parking at peninsula stations for just $6/day.
Today, BART staff presented the Board of Directors with a plan to enhance service along the SFO/Millbrae Extension, which includes the Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, SFO and Millbrae stations.
BART staff will present this plan for the BART Board's approval at its June 14 meeting. Should the Board give the okay, the service enhancements will go into effect in January 2008, while the long term airport parking pilot program at peninsula stations will go into effect early this summer.
SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS
Part of the proposed plan includes bringing back the popular Pittsburg/Bay Point or Yellow Line to service the San Francisco International Airport Station (SFO) while the Richmond or Red Line trains will bypass SFO and go directly into Millbrae Station. This means that commuters going from Millbrae to downtown San Francisco will see a six-minute (16%) drop in their travel time.
MONDAY ? FRIDAY 4 AM - 7:00 PM:
· Pittsburg/Bay Point or Yellow Line trains will go directly into SFO
· Richmond or Red Line trains will go directly to Millbrae, bypassing SFO
AFTER 7PM & WEEKENDS/HOLIDAYS:
· Pittsburg/Bay Point or Yellow Line trains will go directly into SFO
· Dublin/Pleasanton or Blue Line will replace the Richmond/Red Line & go directly to Millbrae
The two lines combined will provide San Bruno, South San Francisco and Colma commuters with double the number of trains ? cutting the wait time from 15 to eight minutes.
OTHER ENHANCEMENTS:
· Adding a new train to the SFO Station from downtown San Francisco for those catching early morning flights on weekdays ? train will arrive approximately 20 minutes earlier than the current scheduled arrival of 5:31 AM
· Starting the Richmond or Red Line one hour earlier ? around 4 AM - with direct service to downtown San Francisco and Millbrae
$6/DAY LONG TERM AIRPORT PARKING PILOT PROGRAM
BART staff also proposed establishing a long term, airport parking program at peninsula stations that will cater to SFO travelers. The cost to park at either the Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno or Millbrae parking lots would be just $6/day. At that price, even if you include the round trip fare to SFO, it would still be much more affordable for most passengers to park in a BART lot than in an off-airport lot. In fact, in some cases a passenger could save $15 over three days.
SFO/MILLBRAE EXTENSION RIDERSHIP UP 22% SINCE OPENING
BART ridership along the SFO/Millbrae Extension has grown 22% since the Extension opened in June 2003. Currently 30,000 people ride the five-station Extension.
Assuming the BART Board approves of the service enhancements, BART hopes to see at least a two percent growth on the Extension starting in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2007.