Results tagged “transbaytube”

With a cool $5.4 million in new state bond money, according to the Chronicle, "BART will upgrade and expand its security camera system" to the likes of which you've never seen before! Dangerous sounding "smart cameras" will litter BART cars, stations, parking lots, and even inside of the Transbay Tube.

We had just opened our laptop this evening on our ride back across the Bay when a dialog popped up: "None of your usual wireless networks could be found. Do you want to join wifi_rail?"

You know, when BART management has their year-end review and puts together a montage of all the shiny, happy moments that happened, we think they're probably going to skip July as today there was yet another BART mishap. That's three in the past month for those who are counting.

We're just trying to spare you some panic tomorrow morning, folks -- if you hear bells and sirens at 5:12 a.m., no need to wonder about the cosmic coincidence of an earthquake striking exactly 100 years after the big one of 1906 -- it's just Gavin Newsom, who's ordered that all fire stations and churches ring their bells and sirens after the moment of silence at Lotta's Fountain that traditionally commemorates the 1906 quake. (We must confess, though, that we're now wondering what'll happen if, by some weird cosmic coincidence, an earthquake does strike exactly 100 years later.) If the thought of an early morning alarm clock gets you so irritated that you're just not going to sleep at all, you might as well head on down to the intersection of Kearny, Market, and Geary, to attend the centennial celebration in person. The party starts at 4:30 a.m., and MUNI will run free shuttle buses from St. Francis Circle (you know, where the K, L, and M emerge from the ground) starting at 3:00 a.m., allowing themselves two hours to get you there 30 minutes late. MUNI will run free trains all day Tuesday as well, and all stations (except Civic Center) will open early. We feel bad for the eager early morning people who miss that message and are pounding futilely on the metal grates at UN Plaza. And finally, MUNI, always forward-thinking, warns you of "likely delays" crossing Market Street at 9:30 a.m. due to the centennial parade. BART will run a Centennial Train from West Oakland into SF at 4:15, and the regular 4:09 Daly City train to Pittsburg will run as well. They also use this opportunity to remind you that they're working on retrofitting the Transbay Tube.

Well, at least it wasn't in the Transbay Tube -- a woman went into labor on the steps of the Berkeley BART stop today. With triplets. Watch where you're walking this afternoon! People at first ignored the woman's cries for help (when asked about this, a BART spokesperson hypothesized that it might have been because she "looked homeless"), but finally, a Berkeley High School teacher on break ran up and caught the first of the woman's three premature babies in his t-shirt. The teacher called an ambulance, who took the baby to Oakland's Children's Hospital, and then transferred the mother to Alta Bates, where she had the other two triplets. All three babies are all doing well. BART, ever budget-conscious, noted that "We do not have any plans to give them lifetime passes at this point." Meanwhile, folks, be a pal and give up your BART seat to that nice pregnant woman struggling to stay upright as the train speeds to MacArthur. Do you want to give up your t-shirt to save her child?

Boo! BART riders suffered additional indignities this morning, as the system struggled to exorcise the "ghost train" that somehow got onto the system. For some reason, the computer system became convinced there was a train stuck at the Embarcadero and shut down, forcing all conductors to drive manually. When driving manually, trains can only go 25 mph in the Transbay Tube, which caused massive backups and delays. This is in addition to the other computer problems BART has been suffering, where the track switching equipment keeps freezing up in the South Bay. Maybe it's time for BART to invest in a new speedy Linux system. Not really related, but what exactly do you think Ghostbusters theme song singer Ray Parker Jr. means when he says, "Bustin' makes me feel good"?

SFist can hold it for a long time, which is why we never even knew there were bathrooms at BART stations. Our understanding was that you were supposed to pee in the elevators like everyone else. And now that we know there are bathrooms, SFist figures that they would be used for more important things like washing up after your last trick, copping a fix or meeting another guy for some anonymous fun. Still, some of our less bladder-endowed friends have been complaining that whenever Tom Ridge gets all Orange-alert on the country, like when Democrats are all over the headlines, BART locks down the bathrooms.