In all this discussion about possibly adding a "late-night" train on Fridays, BART has really only been proposing adding an eastbound train that departs Embarcadero station one hour later than the existing last train -- so 1:26 a.m. versus 12:26 a.m. This one hour has BART directors still in a tizzy, because the current proposal would have cut out an early morning Saturday train in order to accommodate BART maintenance crews who claim they need the extra hour for track work, especially on weekends -- and the loss of that early train would disproportionally affect low-income and minority riders.

The board has put off the vote on the six-month test of the late train until July 14, and at least Board president Bob Franklin is sounding halfway reasonable on the issue, asking "if it's possible to decrease the amount of time needed by hiring extra maintenance crews or if the system could spare a half hour, so the last train to the East Bay could depart the Embarcadero station at 1 a.m. instead of 12:26 a.m. Limited late-night service, stopping before the end of each line, should also be explored, he said."

This, people, is why BART will never be 24 hours in our lifetime.

[SF Gate]