$40M in funding approved to ease Bay Bridge commute

 by Katie Utehs : abc7news – excerpt

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) – Bay Area transportation planners have approved $40 million in funding specifically to ease the Bay Bridge commute and alternatives.

The Bay Bridge is perpetually congested. “Driving is not fun, dealing with traffic and everything,” one driver said.

But the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is funding some temporary remedies, like added ferries and busses.

“These are things that we know work. We do these things during a BART strike, for example. We want to take those emergency matters and make them permanent,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesperson Randy Rentschler said.

The commission approved $40 million on Wednesday to help relieve Bay Bridge traffic. It will fund additional ferry trips and new vessels as early as this fall – something commuters from Alameda are eager to hear.

“For the South San Francisco route, which started four years ago, there used to not be very many riders on it at all. But now we’ve reached almost capacity on some of the routes,” Alameda resident Anne Thomas said.

AC Transit will use the money to aid in purchasing 15 double decker buses. The buses should arrive in about a year and a half… (more)

More buses is what we have been suggesting as the best solution to easing traffic congestion, but SFMTA insists on concentrating on harassing the cars instead. Quit painting the streets and add more buses to the lines and replace the lines that were cut! Vote to decentralize power at the SFMTA. Support the SFMTA Charter Amendment: stopsfmta.com