BART troubles dragging into new workweek

Commuters should expect no relief Monday from the delays, crowded trains and service disruptions that plagued BART much of last week, transit authorities said Sunday, even as crews continued to investigate the mysterious mechanical problems causing the chaos.

Power surges on a section of track north of the North Concord Station knocked out 50 BART cars last week — on top of 80 cars that were similarly disabled over a two- week period in February, according to BART officials.

Though a few of those cars have been repaired, the system is still down dozens of cars from the 579 that typically are available.

In addition to taking cars out of commission, the power surges forced BART to stop service from North Concord to the busy Pittsburg- Bay Point Station, to avoid risking further train damage.

Rain may add to problems

On Sunday, BART continued testing the track where the power surges happened to try to determine the cause, said spokeswoman Alicia Trost. But there was no new information on what was causing the surges. She said she expected an update from crews Monday morning.

In the meantime, last week’s commute mess should continue into Monday, and may even be exacerbated by rain forecast for the morning. That means overcrowded trains from the East Bay to San Francisco, and bus service to connect passengers who need to get between the North Concord and Pittsburg- Bay Point stations.

“If I’m riding during rush hour, it’s not the most pleasant thing because of how crowded it’s been,” said Lisa Morris, 23, who takes BART every weekday from Oakland to downtown San Francisco. She was in the city shopping on Sunday and not looking forward to facing another uncomfortable commute the next day.

“I’m grateful BART exists. But I feel like it’s very common for the trains to just stop working,” Morris said. “For the number of people who depend on it, it could probably use more funding. I’m just a layperson, but that’s what it seems like.”

It’s not just laypeople. Transit experts from around the country have weighed in on BART’s woes and similar transportation shortcomings in other U. S. cities. The problems largely revolve around basic maintenance and preventive care of the systems’ aging trains, tracks and stations, transit experts say.

Maintenance bond measure

BART leaders plan to put a $ 3.5 billion bond measure on the November ballot to help pay for that kind of maintenance. BART’s 10- year capital improvement program lays out $ 9.6 billion in needs, but only $ 4.8 billion in anticipated revenue.

It could take months for BART to recover fully from this latest mechanical setback. The transit system expects to resume service between the North Concord and PittsburgBay Point stations this week, but repairing the dozens of cars that were disabled will require specialty parts that may not be available until the summer.

That means short, crowded trains may be the norm for many more months — further stretching riders’ already thin patience. Commuters, especially those venting on social media, were furious with the disruptions last week.

On Sunday, though, the leisurely weekend crowd of shoppers and tourists was more forgiving. Many people waiting on downtown platforms weren’t aware of any service disruptions on BART.

“It’s great to have this — at least we can get around without a car,” said Elishanay Daniels, 17, who had come in to San Francisco from Richmond to shop for a prom dress with her aunt.

Waiting a bit further down the platform at the Embarcadero Station, Michelle Huang, 24, noted that BART seemed pretty dependable compared with the delays she’s come to expect on Muni. It takes her at least an hour and a half to get from her Sunset District home to a volunteer job at the Berkeley YMCA every Sunday.

“I’m late today because of Muni,” Huang said, glancing at the time on her phone. BART, she added, “could be better.”

“But it’s not terrible,” she said with a shrug.

It could be worse

Agata Malkowski, 30, said she’s noticed more delays and tightly packed crowds on her regular visits from San Francisco to her boyfriend’s home in Pleasant Hill. But she refuses to complain too much. The train cars are clean, at least.

“I’ve lived in a lot of places, and these are some of the nicest trains I’ve ever taken. I just wish I could get where I wanted to go faster,“Malkowski said, and then grinned. “I’m a spoiled brat.”