We're Never Going To Get Translink

Sigh. For those of us for whom a MUNI FastPass is not enough (i.e., with commutes outside the SF city limits), we really have been eagerly awaiting The One Card To Rule Them All Translink system, which promised to let you buy one magnetic card that would give you access to all Bay Area public transportation systems. No more fumbling around for BART tickets, or waiting in line by the cable car to buy MUNI passbooks, or frantically flipping around your credit card so the stripe faces the right way in the ticket-buying machine right as the Baby Bullet starts ominously clang-clang-clanging an imminent departure to the South Bay!

But no! A BART official working on the Translink project has said, while they've got the system running for AC Transit, Golden Gate ferries and buses, and MUNI trains, he doesn't think MUNI buses, BART, and Caltrain can come online until next year at the earliest. MUNI says they'll be ready by December -- but come on, if you get two different delay estimates from BART and from MUNI, who are you more likely to believe?

The delay is being attributed to software bugs, money-distribution issues between the various local agencies, and the hassle of trying to coordinate between all of the various agencies involved. If they can't even get Caltrain and BART to coordinate Millbrae train schedules, we can imagine it must be even worse trying to divvy up the Translink funds.