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Danville and Alamo residents will get a direct ride from their closest BART station to the San Francisco International Airport.
The BART board of directors voted today to make its Pittsburg/Bay Point yellow line, which stops in Walnut Creek, go directly to the San Francisco airport without the need to transfer, effective Jan. 1.
“Everybody is served in that line,” said Linton Johnson, BART chief spokesman. “It doubles the amount of trains going down the peninsula and it cuts the wait time in half.”
“It provides the majority of people who go to the airport with a direct service,” he added.
Currently, BART’s Dublin/Pleasanton blue line goes directly to the airport while riders on the Pittsburg line must transfer. Riders from Contra Costa County now are advised to transfer at Balboa Park.
With the changed service, Dublin/Pleasanton riders, who currently have a direct line to the airport, will have to transfer on weekdays. But after 7 p.m. and on weekends, their blue line will go directly to the airport and Millbrae. During the day, the red line, which originates in Richmond, will go directly to the airport.
The Dublin line transports approximately 600 riders a day to the San Francisco airport while the Pittsburg route carries 900 to 1,000, said Johnson.
“It’s a simple switch,” Johnson said. “For the vast majority, it’s a great deal more convenient.”
He said BART serves approximately 350,000 riders per day, and the Pittsburg line serves more passengers than Dublin.
Mayors, council members and town managers discussed the issue at their quarterly Tri-Valley Mayor’s Council meeting, which included Danville, San Ramon, Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton.
Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart noted the direct line to the airport had started out with the Contra Costa line then been changed to Dublin/Pleasanton.
“It’s hard to build rider-ship when you jump back and forth,” she said. “You don’t develop any consistency.”
She noted that the San Ramon Valley is growing, especially with business parks such as Hacienda in Pleasanton and Bishop Ranch in San Ramon.
“It’s the fastest growing area, more rapidly than further north,” she said. “We will work with them (BART staff). We just want to know who’s on first.”
Historically, BART designated the Pittsburg route as the direct line that leads to the airport, said Trustee Joel Keller. Due to financial problems with the San Mateo Transit District, the direct line switched to Dublin.
The new switch may not make much of an impact in Danville, said Town Manager Joe Calabrigo. Some residents drive to Pleasanton, and others head to Walnut Creek, he said. Calabrigo, a Danville resident, said he personally uses the Walnut Creek and Lafayette stations because he finds more parking.
However, some Alamo residents are just minutes from the BART station in Walnut Creek.
The California Legislature approved the creation of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District more than 50 years ago. The BART system services Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. It built its SFO Millbrae Extension in 2003.
