Baseball Cards & Talk

Braves John

The Braves make the NBA Playoffs ho-hum

The Braves make the NBA Playoffs nothing to me.

Boring and commercialized beyond belief. The fact that our own Phoenix Suns have been eliminated because they couldn't play defense...

Well, they all should have learned from the Phoenix Indian School Braves.

At the property that is now Indian School Steele Park, northeast of the intersection of east Indian School Road and north Central Avenue, was the Phoenix Indian School.

Now I know the name of the park is the Steele Indian School Park, but to those of us who were once part of the Phoenix Indian School, it is, we think, Stolen Indian School Park but that's A whole different story.

The property of the Phoenix Indian School was once much larger than the 75 acres sold off by the federal government another promise broken to Indian people, of course, to private commercial interests with the proviso that they remand a certain portion of the land sale for a public park.

But this is about the Phoenix Indian School Braves, and not politics.
(Now, for those who are recoiling in horror that I use here the name Braves because the name is not now politically correct, I dee-double dare you to walk up to an old graduate of the Indian School and tell them that the name Braves is, these days, an impolite pejorative, and should not be a part of the contemporary vocabulary. I suspect you will come away, at least, with a moderate-to-devastating bawling out, or, at the most, a punch in the nose.)

Because the Braves were our team. Oh, now I know I didn't attend the school. But Dad was an employee of the school, at various times, the head basketball coach, sponsor of the Indian Club and teacher, and most recently, the librarian.

But I was a campus brat, the child of Indian School employees who lived on campus. We participated at the periphery of student life and smack-dab in the middle of faculty and staff life.

We the students, the faculty, staff and brats were the supporters, athletic (You've heard the joke) and otherwise of the teams. Our teams.

Now our football team after the 1930's and 40's weren't so much to brag about. Before then, we were a power to be reckoned with. We played much teams from much bigger schools including the Phoenix Union Coyotes, the Tempe Normal Bulldogs (which later became Arizona State College at Tempe, and still later, Arizona State Univerity of VOTE YES ON 200 fame.)

Our Braves once also called the Redskins regularly beat these teams. One story told by the late M.R. Bill Hagerty, history teacher at Phoenix North High, was that, one year in the Thanksgiving game, the Phoenix Union team was sweeping the end, the ball being carried by a large boy who later became a judge in our state. One of our boys, whose name is now unremembered, was throwing aside their choice of designations, now our blockers and interference men, until he came to the ball carrier. Our lineman reached over and picked up the ball carrier and simply stood there with him, holding him like the back was a baby, until one of the officials decided to end the play.

Do you remember that, Your Honor? Mr. Hagerty asked.
How could you forget? the judge, smiling, said.
But, then the Arizona Interscholastic Association came up with a plan and a deadly device that affected all Arizona high schools, but probably the Indian school more than the others.

This dirty little device was called the birth certificate.
It may have been okay with the Lord for 20 and 30 -year-old guys to play High School football, but apparently not with the AIA.

So, afterward, our football teams were regularly beaten by other schools, but not our basketball teams.
Ah, yes. Our basketball teams.
They were the run-and-shoot Braves decades before the NBA caught the concept.

Our game would have made Hank Iba and ol' Coach Wooden run screaming in terror into the night.
The names of the run 'n' shooters are legendary among Indian School Old Timers: Chico and Edison Johnson and Arnold Bilagody and Roy Calnimptewa and . . . and Joel Querta . . . and . . . and . . . so many others.

Especially in the years of Coach Joe-Joe Famulette. Our tactics were simple: Run and shoot the ball, steal and shoot the ball, run and shoot the ball, steal and shoot the ball.

Our strategy was similar: Run and shoot the ball, steal and shoot the ball. Call a quick time out, run back on the floor before the other team. Run and shoot the ball.

Get the idea?
In these days of so-called power players, our guys could've run Kobe Bryant and his expensive shoes into the floor. He would have to call a lot shoestring-tying time outs. And maybe our Phoenix Suns would beat them soundly, but the Braves would have had their fun. Our Dan Majerle would be able to keep up with them, but I have to wonder about the rest of them.

In the days before they built the new gym, attending a Phoenix Indian School home game could a dangerous but always an exhilarating experience. The gym was an old WPA project, put together from concrete, block and mortar and cold water in the showers. The seats were painted planks set atop about 12 tiers of concrete set around the interior of the gym.

After World War II, the gym was painted the same battleship gray of the fleet, leading to speculation that the school got a special deal on the surplus after the Navy finished painting the Missouri and the Hornet and the Midway.

A former sports writer for our local rag, Jim Dobkins, once noted the floor was so small, and the space so tiny between the court lines and the first row of spectators, that you might accidentally find yourself in the game if things got wild.

Well, there are those who I am certain believe I speak in hyperbole.
But in my mind, when I dream, the perfect basketball game takes place in a battleship gray gymnasium where the roar of the crowd bounces off block walls and steel rafters and the Braves are the good guys.

About the Author

Jim Porter lives in Phoenix Arizona and is the Official Resident Blogger for http://phoenix.residentblogger.com

John Schuerholz, Braves President, discusses Derek Lowe trade rumors - SIRIUS|XM

Goose Gossage

MLB: History of Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals began their history in 1969. In 1969 the Kansas City Royals joined the American League to become an expansion team in Major League Baseball. The team was founded by Ewing Kauffman. They began their play in Municipal Stadium. A few years later, in 1973, the team moved to Kauffman Stadium. This stadium was named in honor of Ewing Kauffman and is the stadium that the team currently plays at.

 

The team began playing in the West Division. They played in the West Division for more than 25 years of their existence and found all of their success in that division.

 

The team found relatively quick success. The team managed to record its first winning season in 1971. Generally it takes a team nearly a decade to develop into a contender in the league, but the Royals were winning division titles just 7 years after their conception. In 1976, 1977 and 1978 the team managed to win the West Division. The team hit a road block in the playoffs each year though. For three consecutive years the team played against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and lost. The Royals simply could not overcome the Yankees in the 1970s.

 

The 1980s represented to greatest successes for the Kansas City Royals. With the commencement of the 1980s the team found a way to go deeper into the playoffs than they ever had to that point. The Yankees were again a great team in 1980 and faced the Royals in the American League Championship Series. This year brought different results though, as the Royals were able to overcome the Yankees in a 3 game sweep.

 

This victory brought the Royals to the World Series for the first time in team history. The team advanced to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The series was a tough one, needing 6 games to decide the winner. In the end, the Royals did not have enough and fell to the Phillies.

The team had continued success, but they were more famous for other events on the field. One of those events was the famous incident involving George Brett. Brett was the hammering third baseman for the Royals. In a game against the Yankees, Brett homered off of Goose Gossage in the top of the 9th to put the team ahead 5-4. After hitting the homerun, the Manager for the Yankees and the umpire looked at the bat and realized that the pine tar was too far up the bat. The manager turned to the Royals dugout and called George Brett out, causing the team to protest in uproar. After a few days the homerun was reinstated by Major League Baseball. The team resumed the game several weeks later and finished it, allowing the Royals to take the win.

 

The most famous year in team history will ever be 1985. The team began by winning the West Division title. This had been done before many times and was not enough for the Royals. This year they found more success as they pushed through the playoffs. The team was led by Bret Saberhagen, a young pitcher. As they went through the playoffs they'd find themselves in tough spots, but manage to push their way out. In the end they managed to win a 7 game series over the blue Jays in order to advance to the World Series. This World Series brought more happiness than their previous visit. They faced their in-state rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals fell behind in the series 3-1, but managed to pull out a game in game 6 in the bottom of the 9th. This turned the tides and they managed to go on to win their first and only World Series in team history.

 

The team has not really seen much success since that point. They have not won a Division title since 1985 and have been a perennial bottom level team for years.

About the Author

Owen Shaw writes reviews on various sporting events including the different sportsbook websites. In this piece of write up the author highlights on some of legends of MLB and MLB Betting odds.The author also takes the readers thought on how to bet on baseball.

Congrats to Goose! Gossage Tirade (Contains Bad Language!)

Baseball Card 1989

Bay Area Rapid Transit

History

Development and origins

Main article: History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit

Some of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System's current coverage area was once served by the electrified streetcar and suburban train system called the Key System. This early twentieth century system once had regular trans-bay traffic across the lower deck of the Bay Bridge. By the mid-1950s that entire system had been dismantled in favor of highway travel using automobiles and buses - given the explosive growth of expressway construction. A new rapid-transit system was proposed to take the place of the Key System during the late 1940s, and formal planning for it began in the 1950s. Some funding was secured for the BART system in 1959, and construction began a few years later. The first passenger rail service commenced on a few stretches of track in September 1972. The new BART system was hailed by some authorities as a major step forwards in subway technology.

However, questions arose concerning the safety of the BART system and the huge expenditures necessary for the construction of the BART network. Praise for the new transportation system was not unanimous at first.

Recent history

2006 statistics

Number of vehicles

670

Initial system cost

$1.6 billion

Equivalent cost in 2004 dollars (replacement cost)

$15 billion

Hourly passenger capacity

15,000

Maximum daily capacity

360,000

Average weekday ridership

322,965

Annual gross fare income

$233.65 million

Annual expenses

$581.81 million

Annual profits (losses)

($300 million)

Rail cost/passenger mile (excluding capital costs)

$.323

A recent study shows that along with some Bay Area freeways, some of BART's overhead structures could be extensively damaged and could potentially collapse in the event of a major earthquake, which is predicted as highly likely to happen in the Bay Area within the next 30 years. Extensive seismic retrofit will be necessary to address many of these deficiencies, although one in particular, the penetration of the Hayward Fault Zone by the Berkeley Hills Tunnel, will be left for correction after any disabling earthquake, with the consequences for in-transit trains, their operators, and their passengers left to chance.

In May 2004, BART became the first transit system in the nation to offer cellular telephone communication to passengers of all wireless carriers on its trains underground. This is in contrast to other systems in United States, which, while having some cellular telephone service, do not provide it for passengers of all the major cell phone carriers. Service was made available for customers of Verizon Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, AT&T Mobility, and T-Mobile in and between the four San Francisco Market Street stations from Civic Center to Embarcadero. In 2005, coverage was made available between Balboa Park and 16th St. Mission. By July 2008, the fifth cell phone network of the Bay Area, MetroPCS, was added. In December 2009, service was expanded to include the Transbay Tube, thus providing continuous cell phone coverage between West Oakland and Balboa Park. Service is planned to be added in downtown Oakland, Berkeley, and the Berkeley Hills Tunnel by the end of the third quarter 2010. Coverage is expected to be added to South San Francisco and San Bruno in 2011. The goal is to provide continuous cell phone and internet service throughout the entire BART system.

Starting on February 20, 2007 BART entered into an agreement to permit a beta test of WiFi Internet access for travelers on the BART system. It initially included the four San Francisco downtown stations; Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, and Civic Center. To date over 30,000 patrons have utilized the service. The testing and demonstration also includes above ground testing to trains at BART's Hayward Test Track. The testing and deployment has been extended into the underground interconnecting tubes between the four downtown stations and further. The successful demonstration and testing provided for a 10 year contract with WiFi Rail, Inc. for the services throughout the BART Right Of Way (ROW).

During the months of May 2008 and July 2008 the WiFi service was expanded to include the Transbay Tube and now awaits BART cars which have the necessary WiFi equipment to benefit from the network access.

Since the mid 1990s, BART has been trying to modernize its aging 30-year-old system. The aforementioned fleet rehabilitation is part of this modernization; presently, fire alarms, water-sprinkling systems, yellow tactile platform edge domes, and cemented-mat rubber tiles are being installed. The rough black tiles on the platform edge mark the location of the doorway of approaching trains, allowing passengers to wait at the appropriate locations for the train, instead of waiting until the train arrives to figure out where to board. All faregates and ticket vending machines have also been completely replaced.

In the spring of 2007, BART experimented with a system of placed advertisement panels in the Transbay Tube, and when riders looking at the windows saw what looked to be a moving commercial for what was Reebok's "Run Easy" campaign.

On April 10, 2007, BART General Manager Tom Margro, who has been BART chief for eleven years, announced his retirement.

In late May, 2007, BART stated its intention to improve non-peak (night and weekend) headways for each line to only 15 minutes. The current 20-minute headways at these times is viewed as a psychological barrier to ridership. June 2007, BART temporarily reversed its position stating that the shortened wait times would likely not happen due to a $900,000 state revenue budget shortfall. Nevertheless, BART eventually confirmed the implementation of the plan by January 1, 2008.

Furthermore, in June 2007, BART suddenly removed all references to implementation of the TransLink payment system from their website. BART spokesperson Marty Moran stated (via email) that TransLink now may be implemented as early as late 2007. Implementation of TransLink on BART was pushed back even further due to disputes regarding the processing of fares between MTC and BART. TransLink was planned to be rolled out simultaneously on BART, SF Muni, and Caltrain in Spring 2008,. TransLink access was rolled out in May of 2009 .

As BART celebrated the 50th anniversary of its creation by the state legislature, the organization's management announced their plans for the next 50 years. Their vision includes adding a four-bore transbay tube beneath San Francisco Bay that would run parallel and south of the existing tunnel and emerge at the Transbay Transit Terminal to provide connecting service to Caltrain and the proposed future California High Speed Rail system. The four-bore tunnel would provide two tunnels for BART and two tunnels for conventional/high-speed rail. BART's plan focus is on improving service and reliability in its core system (where density and ridership is highest), rather than extensions into far-flung suburbia. These plans include: a line that would continue from the Transbay Terminal through the South-of-Market, northwards on Van Ness and terminating in western San Francisco along the Geary corridor, the Presidio, or North Beach; a line along the Interstate Highway 680 corridor; and a fourth set of rail tracks through Oakland.

Numerous rail service changes were implemented beginning on January 1, 2008. Among the changes, the trains on the Pittsburg / Bay Point line extended their service to the San Francisco-Oakland airport (SFO airport) station (at all hours of operation), but they did not continue to the end of the line at Millbrae. (Only a very few late-night Pittsburg / Bay Point trains continued on to Millbrae after stopping at the SFO airport station). During weekdays (until 7:00 pm), the trains on the Richmond line continued on to the Millbrae station, but bypassed the SFO airport station; during weeknights and weekends, trains on the Dublin / Pleasanton line continued to Millbrae, but also bypassed the SFO airport station). All of this meant that there would no longer be a direct train connection between the SFO airport and Millbrae, inconveniencing "Caltrain" passengers who wished to travel to the SFO airport. The BART management discontinued this direct rail connection, citing low ridership between Millbrae and the SFO airport. However, they did implement timed transfers at the San Bruno station for passengers who were traveling from the SFO airport to Millbrae.

With continuing budget constraints, it was necessary for BART to cut back on service beyond Daly City. As of September 14, 2009, the following changes have taken place: The Pittsburg/Bay Point line will still terminate at SFO on weekdays until 7:00 pm. After 7:00 pm, and all day on weekends and holidays, service will extend to Millbrae. The Dublin / Pleasanton line will no longer serve the extension, instead terminating at Daly City Station.

In 2008, BART announced that it would install solar power systems on the roofs of its train yards and maintenance facilities in Richmond and Hayward in addition to car ports with rooftop solar panels at its Orinda station. The board lamented not being able to install them at all stations but it stated that Orinda was the only station with enough sun for them to make money from the project.

Current system

Background

A photo of the third rails used on the BART system. Note how the third rail changes location relative to the train upon entering the station and the crossover walkway crossing the trackway. Note the walkway on the left side of the trackway in the distance, which is the emergency walkway for the aerial trackway leading into the Daly City station again, the third rail positioned opposite of this walkway.

BART comprises 104 miles (167 km) of track and 43 stations. The system uses a controversial 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad rail gauge, as opposed to the 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge predominantly found in railroad systems in the United States. This is the only transit system in the United States using this gauge. The cars are wider than standard transit equipment, but as wide as standard gauge North American passenger cars. The down side is that all maintenance and support equipment must be custom built. Trains can achieve a centrally-controlled maximum speed of 80 mph (130 km/h) and provide a system-wide average speed of 33 mph (53 km/h) with twenty-second station stopping times (dwell times). Trains operate at a minimum length of three cars per California Public Utilities Commission guidelines to a maximum length of 10 cars, spanning the entire 700 feet (213 m) length of a platform. At its maximum length of 710 feet (216 m), BART has the longest train length of any metrorail system in the United States. The system also features car widths of 10.5 feet (3.2 m) (the same width as an Amtrak Metroliner), a maximum gradient of four percent, and a minimum curve radius of 394 feet (120 m) on the main lines .

Electric current is delivered to the trains over a third rail, the position of which alternates relative to the context of the train. Inside stations, the third rail is always on the side furthest away from the passenger platforms. This design feature eliminates the danger of a passenger either falling directly on the third rail, or stepping onto it to climb back to the platform should they fall off. On ground-level trackways, the third rail alternates from one side of the track to the other, providing breaks in the third rail to allow for emergency evacuations across trackways.

Underground tunnels, aerial structures and the Transbay Tube have evacuation walkways and passageways to allow for train evacuation without exposing passengers to easy, inadvertent contact with the third rail, which is located as far away from these walkways as possible. The voltage on the steel third rail is 1000 Volts DC, so there are notices throughout the system warning passengers of its danger. In addition, BART posts notices inside each train car warning of the third rail and the four paddle-like rail contact shoes protruding from the underside of each car by the rail wheel trucks. Other third-rail powered metro systems in the US utilize a lower voltage.

Many of the original system 1970s-era BART stations, especially the aerial stations, feature simple, Brutalist architecture.

Ridership levels

Ridership records have been set during large scale regional-in-scope events such as the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. The records included a Sunday record of 224,500 that coincided with an Oakland A's Baseball Game and a weekday record of 405,400 set on September 8, 2008, when both the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Raiders had home games. The one week record for ridership was 2,317,800 between June 23 and June 29, 2008. This broke the previous All Time high of 2,301,800 achieved during a closure of the Bay Bridge. BART set an absolute one-day record of 442,000 rides on Thursday, October 29, 2009, following the closure of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge due to the failure of a structural repair.

Problems with Segways on BART

After several high-profile incidents involving Segways, including an incident where a Segway was run over by a train after falling onto the tracks, BART banned them for 45 days until they could regroup and set up a plan to mediate the issue. The consensus reached was the institution of rules similar to bicycles where the Segways would be disallowed during commute hours, except for disabled persons and that the devices could not be on or ridden past the fare gates similar to the rules for all wheeled devices such as skateboards and scooters. Furthermore a permitting system has been established requiring registration for them to be used on the system.

Routes

All routes pass through the city of Oakland, and all but the Richmond Fremont route pass through the Transbay Tube into San Francisco and beyond to Daly City. Most segments of the BART system carry trains of more than one route.

Trains regularly operate on five routes. Unlike most other rapid transit and rail systems around the world, BART lines are generally not referred to by shorthand designations. Although the lines have been colored consistently on BART system maps for more than a decade, they are only occasionally referred to officially by color names, and only rarely referred to in this way by members of the public (e.g., the "Red Line").

Instead, the five BART lines are generally identified on maps and schedules by the names of their termini:

Fremont Daly City, following a former Western Pacific Railroad right-of-way from Fremont to Oakland, operates Mondays through Saturdays daytime to early evening.

Dublin/Pleasanton Daly City, following Interstate-580 via Castro Valley to San Leandro, where it meets the Fremont-Richmond line, continuing into San Francisco.

Pittsburg/Bay Point SFO/Millbrae, following SR 4, a former Sacramento Northern Railway right-of way, and SR 24 from Bay Point to Oakland, and extending beyond Daly City to San Francisco International Airport. On weeknights and weekends, this line turns around at the airport to continue on to Millbrae.

Richmond Daly City/Millbrae, following a former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway right-of-way from Richmond to Berkeley, and extending beyond Daly City to Millbrae on weekdays daytime to early evening. On Saturdays, this line operates to Daly City only.

Richmond Fremont, coinciding with the Richmond Millbrae line and the Fremont Daly City line between their termini and Oakland, and operates daily.

The line from San Francisco through Daly City to Millbrae follows a former Southern Pacific railroad right-of-way, which is also served by Caltrain beyond San Bruno.

Hours of operation

The BART system consists of five lines, but most of the network consists of more than one line on the same track. Trains on each line historically ran every fifteen minutes on weekdays and twenty minutes during the evenings, weekends and holidays; however, since a given station might be served by as many as four lines, it could have service as frequently as every three to four minutes. However the system is closed for four hours every night for maintenance, reopening at 4:00 AM each morning, except for Sundays.

As of January 1, 2008, service on every line is at 15-minute intervals except for Saturdays between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., when service is at 20-minute intervals. Also, as of January 1, 2008, BART service begins around 4:00 a.m. on weekdays, 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and 8:00 a.m. on Sundays. Service ends every day near midnight with station closings timed to the last train at station. Two of the five lines, the Millbraeichmond and SF/Daly Cityremont lines, do not have night (after 7 p.m.) or Sunday service, but all stations remain accessible by transfer from the other lines. All-Nighter Network service is available when BART is closed. All but six BART stations are served (as well as eight Caltrain stations). BART tickets are not accepted on these buses, and each of the four bus systems charge their own fare, which can be up to $3.50; a four-system ride can cost as much as $9.50 as of 2007.

Fares

Ticket vending machines at the Powell Street Station

Fares on BART are comparable to those of commuter rail systems and are higher than those of most metros, especially for long trips. The fare is based on a formula that takes into account both the length and speed of the trip. A surcharge is added for trips traveling through the Transbay Tube, to San Francisco International Airport, or through San Mateo County, which is not a BART member. Historically and up until only recently, passengers have used refillable paper-plastic-composite tickets, on which fares are stored via a magnetic strip, to enter and exit the system (a similar magnetic strip ticketing system is used on the Washington Metro in Washington, D.C). The exit faregate prints the remaining balance on the ticket each time the passenger exits the station. A paper ticket can be refilled at a ticket machine, the remaining balance on any ticket can be applied towards the purchase of a new one, or a card is simply captured by the exit gate when the balance reaches zero; multiple low value cards can be combined to create a larger value card, but only at specific ticket exchange locations which are located at some BART stations. BART relies on unused ticket values, particularly of patrons discarding low-value cards, as a source of revenue, approximated by some to be as high as $9.9 million.

A standard-fare BART ticket. Notice the initial purchased fare printed parallel to the magnetic strip, and the card's remaining balance printed on the left, updated upon each exit. Images of older tickets, a blue, new-style ticket, and other color tickets can be found here.

A stored-value smart card fare system, called the TransLink smart card, was rolled out in the fall of 2009. This program was launched to the public in fall 2006 with rollout on AC Transit, Dumbarton Express, and Golden Gate Transit lines. BART previously promoted the EZ Rider card, a pilot program using technology similar in design to the TransLink cards. Both are contactless smart cards, and contain stored value that can be used for fare payments. BART contracted with Cubic Transportation Systems to replace all the faregates with ones that have smart card readers inherently installed. The EZ Rider program is expected to last until September 2010.

The BART minimum fare of $1.75 is charged for trips under 6 miles (9.7 km), such as a trip between two adjacent Berkeley stations. The maximum one-way fare including all possible surcharges is $10.90, the 51 miles (82 km) journey between Pittsburg/Bay Point and San Francisco International Airport. The farthest possible trip, from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Millbrae, costs less because of the additional charge added to airport trips. Passengers without sufficient fare to complete their journey must use an AddFare machine to pay the remaining balance in order to exit the station. Because of the amount of the base fare, traveling between BART stations in downtown San Francisco on BART costs 25 cents less than it does to ride the city's own light rail system, the MUNI Metro, which is generally slower in covering the same distance. However, MUNI permits around two full hours of riding, including transfers to other MUNI vehicles, whereas BART charges $1.75 for a single journey. There are various quirks in the fare system due to a subsidy being provided to riders traveling between some outlying stations. For example, for a trip from Dublin/Pleasanton to Fremont, it is less expensive to exit the station at the transfer point, Bay Fair, and re-enter the station, instead of staying on the platform, because you would get charged two $1.75 base fares instead of a $4.35 fare from end to end.

BART uses a system of five different color-coded tickets for regular fare, special fare, and discount fare to select groups as follows:

Blue tickets General: the most common type, includes high-value discount tickets

Red tickets Disabled Persons and children aged 4 to 12: 62.5% discount, special ID required (children under the age of 4 ride free)

Green tickets Seniors age 65 or over: 62.5% discount, proof of age required for purchase

Orange tickets Student: special, restricted-use 50% discount ticket for students age 13-18 currently enrolled in high or middle school

BART Plus special high-value ticket with 'flash-pass' privileges with regional transit agencies, including MUNI's buses.

EZ Rider A new plastic smart card fare program that will eventually be replaced by the TransLink Phase II Program

EZ Rider Fare Card

Unlike most transit systems in the United States, BART does not have an unlimited ride pass available and riders must pay for each ride they take. The only discount provided to the public is a 6.25% discount when "high value tickets" are purchased with fare values of $48 and $64, for prices of $45 and $60 respectively. Amtrak's Capitol Corridor & San Joaquins trains sell $10 BART tickets on-board in the caf cars for only $8, resulting in a 20% discount. A 62.5% discount is provided to seniors, the disabled, and children age 5 to 12. Middle and High School students 13 to 18 may obtain a 50% discount if their school participates in the BART program; however, these tickets are intended to be used only between the students' home station and the school's station and for transportation to and from school events. However, these intended limitations are not enforced in any way and students are expected to behave on the honor system. The tickets are only usable on weekdays, a restriction that is enforced by the fare gates. BART Plus tickets enjoy a last-ride bonus where if the remaining value is greater than $.05, the ticket can be used one last time for a trip of any distance. Most special discounted tickets must be purchased at selected vendors and not at ticket machines. The Bart Plus tickets can be purchased at the ticket machines. In particular, the middle and high school tickets are usually sold at the schools themselves.

Family members of BART employees receive special BART passes and can ride free-of-charge upon showing their pass and photo identification to the BART station attendant. Employees of airlines that take BART to work at San Francisco International Airport receive a fare discount of 25%, but non-airline employees who do the same receive no discount.

Ticket gates with the orange triangular doors retracted for a Spare the Air Day

Fares are enforced by the station agent, who monitors activity at the fare gates adjacent to the window and at other fare gates through closed circuit television and faregate status screens located in the agent's booth. All stations are staffed with at least one agent at all times. Despite this, fare fraud occasionally occurs, usually as a result of people entering and exiting through the emergency exit gate, which are permitted for non-emergency use by passengers with bikes, in wheelchairs, and carrying luggage. It also occurs using elevators, which in some stations lead from the ticketed area to the unticketed area.

There is little fare coordination between BART and surrounding agencies. Some agencies accept the BART Plus pass, which at a fee of between $38 and $71 per month, permits pass holders to use BART and connecting buses. Most notably, AC Transit dropped out of the program due to the small amount of reimbursement they received from BART. Another fare coordination program permits adult monthly pass holders of the San Francisco Municipal Railway to ride BART trains within the city of San Francisco for free (with no credit applied to trips outside the city). The city of San Francisco pays BART $.87 for each trip taken under this arrangement. For riders who do not hold such passes, there is generally only a token discount ($.25 to $.50) provided to passengers transferring to and from trains to other transit modes. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority does honor BART transfers for a local fare credit ($.50 to $1.75) towards the 120, 140, 180 and 181 trans-county express lines departing the Fremont BART station, but all riders are required to disembark in Santa Clara County. There is no credit applied when traveling towards the Fremont BART Station.

Proposals to simplify the fare structure abound. At one extreme, a flat fare that disregards distance has been proposed by BART director Joel Keller. The lesser extreme involves the implementation of a simplified structure that would create fare bands or zones. The implementation of either scheme would demote the use of distance-based fares and shift the fare-box recovery burden to the urban riders in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley and away from the suburban riders of East Contra Costa, Southern Alameda, and San Mateo Counties, where density is lowest, and consequently, operational cost is highest.

Connecting services

AC Transit bus stop at Bay Fair Station

BART has direct connections to two regional rail services Caltrain, which provides service between San Francisco, San Jose, and Gilroy, at the Millbrae Station, and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, which runs from Sacramento to San Jose, at the Richmond and Coliseum/Oakland Airport stations. A third Capitol Corridor connection at the Union City station is planned as part of a larger Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project to connect Union City, Fremont, and Newark to various peninsula destinations via the Dumbarton rail bridge. BART is the managing agency for the Capitol Corridor until 2010.

BART connects to San Francisco's local light rail system, the Muni Metro. The upper track level of BART's Market Street subway, originally designed for the lines to Marin County,[citation needed] was turned over to Muni and both agencies share the Embarcadero, Montgomery Street, Powell and Civic Center stations. Some Muni Metro lines connect with (or pass nearby) the BART system at the Balboa Park and Glen Park stations.

Other services connect to BART including the Emery Go Round (Emeryville), WestCAT (north-western Contra Costa County), Benicia Transit (Benicia), Union City Transit (Union City), and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA, in Silicon Valley).

BART hosts carsharing locations at many stations, a program pioneered by City CarShare. Riders can transfer from BART and complete their journeys by car. BART has started to offer long-term airport parking through a third-party vendor at most East Bay stations. Travelers must make an on-line reservation in advance and pay the daily fee of $5 before they can leave their cars at the BART parking lot.

Casual carpools have formed at North Berkeley station and the area around El Cerrito Del Norte station. The lots are convenient since most carpoolers use public transit back to their final destination. However, because of how BART charges for parking, passengers cannot park at most BART lots without paying a fare.

Connecting services via bus

A number of bus transit services connect to BART, which, while managed by separate agencies, are integral to the successful functioning of the system. The primary providers include the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit), San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection), and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (Golden Gate Transit). Until 1997, BART ran its own "BART Express" connector buses, which ran to eastern Alameda County and far eastern and western areas of Contra Costa County; these routes were later devolved to sub-regional transit agencies such as Tri-Delta Transit and the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (WHEELS) or, in the case of Dublin/Pleasanton service, replaced by a full BART extension.

BART is connected to Oakland International Airport via AirBART shuttle buses, which bring travelers to and from the Coliseum/Oakland Airport BART station. These buses are operated by BART and accept exact-change BART fare cards in addition to exact change. BART also connects to the San Francisco International Airport, though in this case the train actually enters the airport directly and no shuttle is necessary, although connections are available to AirTrain for those not departing or arriving from the international terminal.

The bus service connecting the University of California, Berkeley to the Berkeley BART station was once called Humphrey Go-BART, a spoonerism of the famous actor and director Humphrey Bogart. It has since been replaced by a number of regular AC Transit bus routes and shuttle bus routes operated by the university.

Organization and management

Governance

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is a special governmental agency created by the State of California consisting of Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the City and County of San Francisco. San Mateo County, which hosts six BART stations, is not part of the BART District. It is governed by an elected Board of Directors with each of the nine directors representing a specific geographic area within the BART district. BART has its own police force.

While the district includes all of the cities and communities in its jurisdiction, some of these cities do not have stations on the BART system. This has caused tensions among property owners in cities like Livermore who pay BART taxes but must travel outside the city to receive BART service. In areas like Fremont, the majority of commuters do not commute in the direction that BART would take them (many Fremonters commute to San Jose, where there is currently no BART service). This would be alleviated with the completion of a BART-to-San Jose extension project.

However, some cities and towns are near enough to cities with BART stations that residents commute via a bus or car to the nearest BART station. Emeryville, for instance, has no BART service, but has a free shuttle service, the Emery-Go-Round, that takes passengers to the nearby MacArthur station in Oakland. Similarly, Albany does not have a BART station of its own. The city's residents can go to either North Berkeley (in Alameda County) or El Cerrito Plaza (in Contra Costa County) stations for services. For those wishing to drive their cars to the stations instead, many BART stations offer many kinds of parking options.

Budget

In 2005, BART required nearly $300 million in funds after fares. About 37% of the costs went to maintenance, 29% to actual transportation operations, 24% to general administration, 8% to police services, and 4% to construction and engineering. In 2005, 53% of the budget was derived from fares, 32% from taxes, and 15% from other sources, including advertising, station retail space leasing, and parking fees. BART's farebox recovery ratio of 53% is relatively high for a U.S. public transit agency operating over such long distances with high frequency (for comparison, see the article on farebox recovery).

General Manager

196? - 1975

Billy Stokes

1975 - 1978

Frank C. Herringer

1979 - 1988

Keith Bernard

1989 - 1994

Frank Wilson

1994 - 1996

Richard A. White

1996 - 2007

Tom Margro

2007 - Present

Dorothy Dugger

Chief Spokesperson

1972 - 2004

Mike Healy

2004 - present

Linton Johnson

Rolling stock

A refurbished A car interior with carpeted flooring.

Interior of a C1 car with an upgraded spray-on composite flooring.

The interior of a C2 car with carpeted flooring. A flip-up seat is visible on the left.

A Demonstration Car (modified C2 car) interior with blue vinyl flooring. This car has a designated Bike Space in the area normally reserved for passengers in wheelchairs; the front-facing seat on the left-hand side of the car has been removed to accommodate passengers with bicycles, in turn, the aisle-facing seat on the right-hand side near the operator's cab has been removed to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs. This car also has hand straps, unlike the other BART train cars.

BART operates four types of cars, built from three separate orders, totaling 669 cars.

To run a typical peak morning commute, BART requires 579 cars. Of those, 541 are scheduled to be in active service; the other 38 are used to build up four spare trains (essential for maintaining on-time service). At any one time, the remaining 90 cars are in for repair, maintenance, or some type of planned modification work.

The A cars and the B cars were built from 1968 to 1971 by Rohr Industries, an aerospace manufacturing company which had only recently made its foray into mass-transit equipment manufacturing, touting yet untested space-age design techniques. The A cars were designed as leading or trailing cars only, with a fiberglass operator's cab housing train control equipment and BART's two-way communication system. The A cars are distinguished by their aerodynamic leading edge extending 5 feet (1.52 m) longer than their B- and C-car siblings. A cars can comfortably seat 72 passengers, and under crush load, 150 passengers. B cars have no operator's cab and are used in the middle of trains to carry passengers only; B cars have the same passenger capacity as A cars. Currently, BART operates 59 A cars and 380 B cars. BART's livery has remained effectively unchanged throughout its history.

The C cars were built by Alstom between 1987 and 1989. The C cars have a similar fiberglass operator's cab and control and communications equipment as the A cars, but unlike A cars, do not have the aerodynamic nose design, thus allowing them to be used as middle cars as well. The dual purpose of the C cars allows faster train-size changes without having to move the train to a switching yard. C cars can comfortably seat 64 (4 seats were lost compared to the A/B cars by eliminating one row of seats to accommodate the operator cab and 4 additional seats were lost by eliminating one pair of seats next to the left-side forward door on each side to provide space for wheelchairs) and under crush load accommodate 150 passengers. The latest order, from Morrison-Knudsen (now Washington Group International), was for C2 cars, which are essentially the same as C cars, but feature an updated, third-generation interior with a blue/gray motif, in contrast to the previous blue and brown colors. The CCTV cameras on C2 cars are also triangular in shape when compared to the rectangular shape of the camera on a C1 car. C2 cars have flip-up seats near the left-side forward door to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs, and red lights on posts near the door to warn the hearing-impaired when the doors are about to close. C2 cars can comfortably seat 68 passengers (including the flip-up seats), and under crush load can carry 150 passengers. Since the purchase of C2s, the original C cars are also referred to as C1 cars. Currently, BART operates 150 C1 cars and 80 C2 cars.

In 1995, BART contracted with ADtranz (acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 2001) to refurbish and overhaul the 439 original Rohr A- and B-cars, updating the old vintage brown fabric seats to the less-toxic and easier-to-clean, light-blue polyurethane seats in use today and bringing the cars in general to the same level of interior amenities as the C2 fleet. The Rohr cars were also rebuilt with ADtranz 3-phase Alternating Current (AC) traction motors with IGBT inverters, model 1507C. The seven-year project was completed in 2002. All BART cars have upholstered seats and nearly all cars have carpeting except for some C1 and/or C2 cars. Because one of the original design goals was for all BART riders to be seated, the older cars have fewer provisions such as grab bars for standing passengers. Flip-up seats (found in C2 cars) were excluded from the refurbishment (reducing seating capacity from 72 to 68), in order to provide designated areas for luggage, wheelchairs and bicycles. Consequently, the original C (or C1) cars have the oldest interior design, as they have not been refurbished and were not purchased recently enough to have the "newer" convenience features; for example, they lack vertical grab bars in the middle of the car and do not have the in-post red lights to warn of closing doors. However, the carpeted flooring in most of the C1 cars was replaced with an experimental spray-on composite flooring after passengers complained that the cars were unclean.

The A, B, and C cars were all given 3-digit numbers originally, but when refurbished 1000 was added to the number of each individual A/B car (e.g. car 633 would become 1633). The C2 cars are numbered in the 2500 series; the C/C1 cars still have 3-digit numbers.

Prior to rebuilding, the Direct Current (DC) traction motors used on the 439 Rohr BART cars were built by Westinghouse, the same company that also built the automatic train control system for BART. The Westinghouse traction motors are model 1463 with chopper controls. The Westinghouse DC motors are still in use on the Alstom C (C1) and Morrison-Knudsen C2 cars. The motors that were pulled from the Rohr cars during rehabilitation were retained as spare motors for use on the C1 and C2 cars. Other undercar systems also built by Westinghouse on the 439 Rohr BART cars before rehabilitation were the auxiliary power box, the hydraulic pumps for the brakes, the air suspension, and the brake control systems (which were part of the propulsion logic cradle that was mounted in the chopper control semiconductor box). The HVAC system on the Rohr BART cars before rehabilitation were built by Thermo King, when it was a subsidiary of Westinghouse (Thermo King is now a subsidiary of Ingersoll-Rand). The current HVAC systems on the rehabbed Rohr-built Gen 1 cars were built by Westcode.

Comparison with other rail transit systems

Main article: Rapid Transit

BART, like other transit systems of the same era, endeavored to connect outlying suburbs with job centers in Oakland and San Francisco by building out lines that paralleled established commute routes of the region's freeway system. The majority of BART's service area, as measured by percentage of system length, consists of low-density suburbs. Unlike the New York City Subway or the London Underground, individual BART lines were not designed to provide frequent local service, as evidenced by the system's current maximum achievable headway of 13.33 minutes per line through the quadruple interlined section. Muni provides local light-rail and subway service within San Francisco city limits and runs with smaller headways than does BART. BART could in many ways be characterized as a "commuter subway," since it has many characteristics of a commuter rail system, including lengthy lines that extend to the far reaches of suburbia with significant distances between most adjacent stations. However, in the urban areas of San Francisco and downtown Oakland, multiple lines converge, and BART takes on the characteristics of an urban subway, including short headways and transfer opportunities to other lines.

BART could be considered to be more similar to a regional commuter rail service, such as the Berlin S-Bahn or the Paris RER. However, BART also possesses all the qualities and services of a metro system, including electrified third-rail propulsion, exclusive grade-separated right-of-way, frequent headways in its urban service areas, and pre-paid fare card access. Urban stations are as close as one-half mile (800 m) apart and have combined two and one-half to five-minute service intervals at peak times. These factors contribute to the consideration of BART as a hybrid metro-commuter system, functioning as a metrorail system in the central business districts of San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, and as commuter rail in the region's suburban areas.

Future stock

A computer graphics rendering of what the new BART car will look like.

To speed up service, BART is preparing to introduce new, three-door cars. BART plans to start purchasing new cars in 2010, when it will have paid off other capital debt for track and car work, with the first 10 pilot cars arriving for testing in 2014. The order will consist of 200 base cars with two additional option orders of 250 cars each for a total of 700 cars to completely replace the original fleet. All 700 cars are to arrive by 2024. There are also two additional options, one for general fleet expansion, and the other for the San Jose extension, with 150 cars each. If all options are exercised, the total number of new BART cars will be 1000 cars.

Future expansion and extension

Main article: Bay Area Rapid Transit expansion

Expansion projects for the Bay Area Rapid Transit have existed ever since the opening of the project. These projects include the Warm Springs extension, the San Jose extension, the Oakland Airport Connector, eBART, 'tBART': I-580/Tri-Valley Corridor, 'wBART': I-80/West Contra Costa Corridor, and numerous infill stations along the route.

See also

San Francisco Bay Area portal

List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations

List of rapid transit systems

List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership

List of California railroads

Notes

^ a b "Quarterly Weekday Average Exits" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. http://www.bart.gov/docs/station_exits_quarterly.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 

^ a b "History of BART (1946-1972)". BART. http://www.bart.gov/about/history/history_1.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ See BART Composite Report, prepared by Parsons Brinkerhof Tutor Bechtel, 1962

^ "BART- Not a Moment Too Soon". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/684558862.html?dids=684558862:684558862&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+13,+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=BART---Not+a+Moment+Too+Soon&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 

^ "BART First in Operation: 2nd great subway boom under way in many cities". The Bulletin. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3qgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g_cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3354,4929895&dq=bart. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "Safe Automated BART Train Controls Doubted". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/660715472.html?dids=660715472:660715472&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+15,+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Safe+Automated+BART+Train+Controls+Doubted&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART Manager Denies System Was Overcharged by Designers". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/660721622.html?dids=660721622:660721622&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+16,+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=BART+Manager+Denies+System+Was+Overcharged+by+Designers&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 

^ "BART Earthquake Safety Program". BART. http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/earthquakesafety.asp. Retrieved 2006-05-08. 

^ Michael Cabanatuan (November 19, 2005). "Underground, but not unconnected -- BART offers wireless service to riders". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/19/MNGF2FR6C11.DTL. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 

^ Underground cell phone coverage on BART expands, BART, July 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-18.

^ BART expands wireless access to Transbay Tube, BART, December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-21.

^ WiFi Rail Inc. to provide wifi access on BART system. BART. February 2009. http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2009/news20090202.aspx. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 

^ WiFi Rail Tube Access. KRON 4. June 2009. http://www.wifirail.net/clips/kron4.com_061809.mov. Retrieved 2009-06-18. 

^ "BART bond might make ballot in fall". Oakland Tribunal. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OKTB&p_theme=oktb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F99357E1F56EF7F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ Gordon, Rachel (2007-04-11). "Head of BART plans to resign". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/11/BAGKMP6G331.DTL. Retrieved 2007-10-26. 

^ Cuff, Denis (2007-05-29). "BART board wants to lessen waits". Contra Costa Times. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/35220. Retrieved 2007-10-26. 

^ "Good move by BART". Contra Costa Times. 2007-10-01. http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_7051537. Retrieved 2007-10-26. 

^ Metz, Adam (2007-06-19). "BART's "customer response" to Blogger Emails doesn't answer ?'s". The Oakland Review. http://oaklandreview.vox.com/library/post/barts-customer-response-to-blogger-emails-doesnt-answer-s.html. Retrieved 2007-10-26. 

^ "MTC -- Services -- Translink". MTC Website. 2007-09-14. http://www.mtc.ca.gov/services/translink/. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 

^ "TransLink passes all BART tests, ready for summertime launch". BART website. 2009-05-08. http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2009/news20090325.aspx. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 

^ Cabanatuan, Michael (2007-06-22). "BART'S New Vision: More, Bigger, Faster". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/22/MNGJQQJVSD1.DTL. Retrieved 2007-10-26. 

^ a b BART goes solar at Orinda station, by Dennis Cuff, Contra Costa Times, July 10, 2008, access date July 13, 2008

^ "BART System Facts". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. http://www.bart.gov/about/history/systemFacts.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 

^ "BART Train length". Google Groups: ba.transportation. July 3, 2000. http://groups.google.com/group/ba.transportation/browse_frm/thread/2b50a587214ace23/5be1c19d04ad4b06. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ Paul Garbutt (1997). "Facts and Figures". World Metro Systems. Capital Transport. pp. 130131. ISBN 1854141910. 

^ "BART - Car types". BART. http://www.bart.gov/about/history/cars.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART: Passenger Panic Worsened Tunnel Fire". CBS. http://cbs5.com/local/BART.evacuation.fire.2.441245.html. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ a b Pride parade helps set BART ridership records, BART News, July 1, 2008 access date August 18, 2008

^ a b 09.09.2008 BART sets ridership record with Monday's sports events

^ 11.01.2009 BART customers continue to set ridership records

^ a b c Pilot program approved for Segway use on BART, BART News, August 15, 2008, accessed August 18, 2008

^ "BART to run on Sunday schedule Christmas Day". BART. December 21, 2006. http://www.bart.gov/news/press/news20061221a.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 

^ "Why doesn't BART run 24 hours?". BART. http://www.bart.gov/guide/latenight.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART - Overview". BART. http://www.bart.gov/guide/index.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART Service Hours, Holiday Schedule". BART. http://www.bart.gov/guide/overview/hours.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "All Nighter Bus Service". 511 SF Bay Area Travel Guide. http://transit.511.org/providers/night.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 

^ "BART Unveils Modern Fare Gates and New Ticket Vending Machines". Business Wire. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BART+Unveils+Modern+Fare+Gates+and+New+Ticket+Vending+Machines-a092914818. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART ticket refunds and exchanges". BART. http://www.bart.gov/tickets/sales/refunds.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-22. [

^ Jon Carroll (December 6, 2000). "Tiny Tickets Ha Ha Ha Ha". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/12/06/DD140623.DTL. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "TransLink on BART". TransLink. http://www.translink.org/TranslinkWeb/bart/index.do;jsessionid=xiN0e+gtNElOU777mW-I2Q**. Retrieved 2009-12-18. 

^ Andrew F. Hamm (January 6, 2006). "TransLink program again tries to unify Bay Area transit fares". Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/othercities/sanjose/stories/2006/01/09/story6.html. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "TransLink where can I use TransLink?". TransLink. http://www.translink.org/whereCanIuseTranslink.do. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "Press Release: Cubic Receives $7 Million Contract to Link BART To San Francisco Bay Area's Regional Smart Card Program". Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. 2004-02-24. http://www.cubic.com/cts/PressReleases/Feb24-2004.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 

^ "BART Translink Transition Plan". BART. 2009-08-12. http://apps.mtc.ca.gov/meeting_packet_documents/agenda_1342/BART_TL_Transition_Plan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-18. 

^ "QuickPlanner >> Results between Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley". BART. http://bart.gov/stations/quickplanner/schedule.asp?origin=BRK&format=quick&destination=NBRK&trip_mode=undefined&time_mode=departs&depart_month=6&depart_date=12&return_page=/index.asp&depart_time=2:30+PM&new=yes&dhtml=true. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "QuickPlanner >> Results between Pittsburg/Bay Point and SFO". BART. http://bart.gov/stations/quickplanner/schedule.asp?origin=BAYPT&format=quick&destination=SFIA&trip_mode=undefined&time_mode=departs&depart_month=12&depart_date=5&return_page=/index.asp&depart_time=2:30+PM&new=yes&dhtml=true. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "BART Ticket Types". BART. http://bart.gov/tickets/types/types.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ (PDF) Capitol Corridor Ride Guide. The Capitol Corridor. http://www.capitolcorridor.org/included/docs/ccjpa/ride_guide.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "The Capitol Corridor: BART Connections". The Capitol Corridor. http://www.capitolcorridor.org/schedules/transit_connections/BART_connections.php. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ (PDF) Short range transit plan & capital improvement program (FY06 through FY15). BART. November 2005. http://www.bart.gov/docs/Draft_FY06_SRTP_CIP.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "Today free lecture: fare idea falls flat". Inside Bay Area. September 19, 2006. http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2006/09/19/todays-free-lecture-fare-idea-falls-flat. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 

^ "Dumbarton Rail Corridor". San Mateo County Transit Authority. http://www.smcta.com/Dumbarton_Rail/information.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "BART again selected as managing agency for Capitol Corridor". BART. February 28, 2005. http://www.bart.gov/news/press/news20050228.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "Long-Term Parking for Travelers". BART. http://www.bart.gov/guide/parking/longterm.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "Bart Express Connecting Bus Service". ALL-Transit.com. http://www.all-transit.com/rosters/bart-r-2.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ "BART Board Acts On Oakland Airport Connector". BART. http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2009/news20090427.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "Myths, gods, and titanic disasters: How servers really get their names". IT World. http://www.itworld.com/offbeat/63716/myths-gods-and-titanic-disasters-how-servers-really-get-their-names?page=0,3. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART Police". BART. http://www.bart.gov/about/police/. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART's Livermore role reviewed". Contra Costa Times. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&s_site=contracostatimes&p_multi=CC&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1064A15771213A81&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART parking overview". BART. http://bart.gov/guide/parking/overview.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ (PDF) BART 2005 Annual Report. http://www.bart.gov/docs/AR2005.pdf.  (TXT) BART 2005 Annual Report. BART.gov. http://www.bart.gov/docs/AR2005.txt. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 

^ ""Why can't the trains be longer?" Some background to explain". BART. 2008-09-25. http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2008/news20080924a.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "FY08 Short Range Transit Plan and Capital Improvement Program" (PDF). BART. September 2007. http://www.bart.gov/docs/FINAL_FY08_SRTP_CIP.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-11. 

^ "BART Car ills". San Jose Mercury News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB731C25CCAA9D1&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "BART Renovation Program Nearing Completion". Business Wire. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-26087660_ITM. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ Westcode

^ W. S. Homburger. "The impact of a new rapid transit system on traffic on parallel highway facilities". 1029-0354, Volume 4, Issue 3 (Transportation Planning and Technology). http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface?content=a773502237&rt=0&format=pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-24. 

^ "Glossary of Transit Terminology". American Public Transportation Association. http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/glossary.cfm. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 

^ "Passenger Rail Issues". East Bay Bicycle Coalition. http://www.ebbc.org/rail/sjx.html. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 

^ "Rapid transit". Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rapid transit. Retrieved 2008-02-27. ; "Metro". International Association of Public Transport. http://www.uitp.org/Public-Transport/metro/index.cfm. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 

^ "BART plans on $3.4B for new cars". ABC News. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=resources/traffic&id=6800819. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "Official BART information on new car purchase project". BART. http://bart.gov/about/projects/cars/index.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

^ "Green Beat: BART Cars To Receive Overdue Upgrade". CBS. http://cbs5.com/environment/bart.future.upgrade.2.774054.html. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 

^ "BART opens bids on project, moves a step closer to Silicon Valley". Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2009/03/09/newscolumn1.html?b=1236571200^1789847. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 

References

BART: a study of problems of rail transit. California. Legislature. Assembly. Committee on Transportation. 1973. 

Richard Grefe (1976). A history of the key decisions in the development of Bay Area Rapid Transit. National Technical Information Service. 

E. Gareth Hoachlander (1976). Bay Area Rapid Transit: who pays and who benefits?. University of California. 

Further reading

Owen, Wilfred (1966). The metropolitan transportation problem. Anchor Books. 

Cervero, Robert (1998). The transit metropolis: a global inquiry. Island Press. ISBN 1559635916. 

University of California (1966). The San Francisco Bay area: its problems and future, Volume 2. University of California. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: BART

BART - official website

Engineering Geology of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System, 1964-75

BART Map/Schedule Map/Schedule using Google Maps API

BART widget, a self-contained trip planner for Mac OS X Dashboard

BARTsmart Another BART Widget, featuring BART schedules and news

Map of BART and rail network in simplified diagrammatic, rather than geographically accurate

iSubwayMaps.com iPod, alternative predating official BART offering (map only)

Typographica BART Wayfinding October 8, 2005 article about typography of BART signage

Shuttles serving BART stations at 511.org

Pictures of BART on world.nycsubway.org

Network map (real-distance)

 

Links to related articles

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Bay Area Rapid Transit

Current lines

     Richmondillbrae       Fremontaly City       Richmondremont       Pittsburg/Bay PointFO/Millbrae       Dublin/Pleasantonaly City  AirBART

Stations

Alameda County

Ashby  Bay Fair  Castro Valley  Downtown Berkeley  Dublin/Pleasanton  Fremont  Hayward  North Berkeley  San Leandro  South Hayward  Union City  Warm Springs  West Dublin/Pleasanton

Contra Costa County

Concord  El Cerrito del Norte  El Cerrito Plaza  Lafayette  North Concord/Martinez  Orinda  Pittsburg/Bay Point  Pleasant Hill  Richmond  Walnut Creek

Oakland

19th Street/Oakland  Fruitvale  Lake Merritt  MacArthur  Oakland City Center/12th Street  Coliseum/Oakland Airport  Rockridge  West Oakland

San Francisco

16th Street Mission  24th Street Mission  Balboa Park  Civic Center  Embarcadero  Glen Park  Montgomery Street  Powell Street

San Mateo County

Colma  Daly City  Millbrae  San Bruno  San Francisco International Airport  South San Francisco

System features

Transbay Tube Market Street Subway

Connecting buses

AC Transit Amtrak Thruway Bus Services Bear Benicia Breeze County Connection Dumbarton Express East Bay Paratransit Emery Go Round Fairfield/Suisun Golden Gate Greyhound MAX Delta Breeze Muni SamTrans SMART Solano Express Tri-Delta Union City VTA Vallejo WestCAT WHEELS

Connecting rail services

Amtrak Amtrak California Caltrain Capitol Corridor Muni Metro

Board of Directors

District 1 Gail Murray (President) District 2 Joel Keller District 3 Bob Franklin District 4 Carole Ward Allen District 5 Zoyd Luce District 6 Thomas Blalock District 7 Lynette Sweet District 8 James Fang District 9 Tom Radulovich

Miscellaneous

BART history BART expansion

Category

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Public transit in the San Francisco Bay Area

Rail

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Ferry

Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry  Alameda/Oakland Ferry  Angel Island Tiburon Ferry  Baylink Ferry  Blue & Gold Fleet  Golden Gate Ferry  Richmond Ferry  Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company  Hercules Ferry  South San Francisco Ferry

Bus

AC Transit Western Alameda/Contra Costa Counties  AirBART Oakland Airport/Oakland Coliseum  The Duck American Canyon  Benicia Breeze  Bear Transit UC Berkeley  Burlingame Shuttle  Calistoga Handy Van Calistoga  Cloverdale Transit  County Connection Central Contra Costa County  Dumbarton Express  Emery-Go-Round  Fairfield and Suisun Transit  Golden Gate Transit Marin/Sonoma Counties  Healdsburg Transit  Highway 17 Express  Lake Transit Lake County  Manteca Transit  Marin Transit Western Marin County  Mendocino Transit Authority  MAX Modesto  Monterey-Salinas Transit Monterey County  Muni San Francisco  Petaluma Transit  Rio Vista Delta Breeze  RT Sacramento County  SamTrans San Mateo County  San Benito Transit San Benito County  SMART San Joaquin County  Santa Cruz...
About the Author

I am China Manufacturers writer, reports some information about electric scooter belt , geely scooter parts.

Ken Griffey Jr Tribute through cards 1989 to 2001

Mets Signed

Warning Signs Of Child Abuse

In the USA, over 900,000 children are victims of abuse & neglect every year. Child abuse is so common, yet shocking . Whether the abuse is physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect, the scars can be deep and long-lasting, often leading to future child abuse. Learning the signs and symptoms of child abuse can help break the cycle, finding out where to get help for the children and their caregivers.

Why would someone abuse an innocent child? Child abuse happens in all social groups and all ethnicities. Sadly, the abuse is overwhelmingly caused by those who are supposed to be protecting the child- the parents.

There are many forms of abuse, but the result is the same- serious physical or emotional harm. Physical or sexual abuse may be the most striking types of abuse, since they often unfortunately leave physical evidence behind. However, emotional abuse and neglect are serious types of child abuse that are often more subtle and difficult to spot. Child neglect is the most common type of child abuse.

Risk factors for child abuse include:

History of child abuse. Unfortunately, the patterns we learn in childhood are often what we use as parents. Without treatment and insight, sadly, the cycle of child abuse often continues.

Stress and lack of support. Parenting can be A very time intensive, difficult job. Parents caring for children without support from family, friends or the community can be under a lot of stress. Teen parents often struggle with the maturity and patience needed to be a parent. Caring for a child with a disability, special needs or difficult behaviors is also a challenge. Caregivers who are under financial or relationship stress are at risk as well.

Alcohol or drug abuse. Alcohol and drug abuse lead to serious lapses in judgment. They can interfere with impulse control making emotional and physical abuse more likely. Due to impairment caused by being intoxicated, alcohol and drug abuse frequently lead to child neglect Domestic violence. Witnessing domestic violence in the home, as well as the chaos and instability that is the result, is emotional abuse to a child. Frequently domestic violence will escalate to physical violence against the child as well.

All types of child abuse and neglect leave lasting scars. Some of these scars might be physical, but emotional scarring has long lasting effects throughout life, damaging a child's sense of self and ability to have healthy relationships.

Physical child abuse: Warning signs and how to help
Many physically abusive parents and caregivers insist that their actions are simply forms of discipline, ways to make children learn to behave. But there's a big difference between giving an unmanageable child a swat on the backside and twisting the child's arm until it breaks. Physical abuse can include striking a child with the hand, fist, or foot or with an object, burning, shaking, pushing, or throwing a child; pinching or biting the child, pulling a child by the hair or cutting off a child's air. Another form of child abuse involving babies is shaken baby syndrome, in which a frustrated caregiver shakes a baby roughly to make the baby stop crying, causing brain damage that often leads to severe neurological problems and even death.

Warning signs of physical abuse
Physical signs. Sometimes physical abuse has clear warning signs, such as unexplained bruises, welts, or cuts. While all children will take a tumble now and then, look for age-inappropriate injuries, injuries that appear to have a pattern such as marks from a hand or belt, or a pattern of severe injuries.

Behavioral signs. Other times, signs of physical abuse may be more subtle. The child may be fearful, shy away from touch or appear to be afraid to go home. A child's clothing may be inappropriate for the weather, such as heavy, long sleeved pants and shirts on hot days.

Caregiver signs. Physically abusive caregivers may display anger management issues and excessive need for control. Their explanation of the injury might not ring true, or may be different from an older child's description of the injury.

Emotional child abuse
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". This old saying could not be farther from the truth. Emotional child abuse may seem invisible. However, because emotional child abuse involves behavior that interferes with a child's mental health or social development, the effects can be extremely damaging and may even leave deeper lifelong psychological scars than physical abuse.

Words. Examples of how words can hurt include constant belittling, shaming, and humiliating a child, calling names and making negative comparisons to others, or constantly telling a child he or she is "no good", "worthless," "bad," or "a mistake." How the words are spoken can be terrifying to a child as well, such as yelling, threatening, or bullying.

Actions. Basic food and shelter may be provided, but withholding love and affection can have devastating effects on a child. Examples include ignoring or rejecting a child, giving him or her the silent treatment. Another strong component of emotional abuse is exposing the child to inappropriate situations or behavior. Especially damaging is witnessing acts that cause a feeling of helplessness and horror, such as in domestic violence or watching another sibling or pet be abused.

Signs of emotional child abuse
Behavioral signs. Since emotional child abuse does not leave concrete marks, the effects may be harder to detect. Is the child excessively shy, fearful or afraid of doing something wrong?

Caregiver signs. Does a caregiver seem unusually harsh and critical of a child, belittling and shaming him or her in front of others? Has the caregiver shown anger or issues with control in other areas? A caregiver may also seem strangely unconcerned with a child's welfare or performance. Keep in mind that there might not be immediate caregiver signs. Tragically, many emotionally abusive caregivers can present a kind outside face to the world, making the abuse of the child all the more confusing and scary.

Sexual child abuse
Sexual abuse, defined as any sexual act between an adult and a child, has components of both physical and emotional abuse. Sexual abuse can be physical, such as inappropriate fondling, touching and actual sexual penetration. It can also be emotionally abusive, as in cases where a child is forced to undress or exposing a child to adult sexuality. Aside from the physical damage that sexual abuse can cause, the emotional component is powerful and far reaching. The layer of shame that accompanies sexual abuse makes the behavior doubly traumatizing. While news stories of sexual predators are scary, what is even more frightening is that the adult who sexually abuses a child or adolescent is usually someone the child knows and is supposed to trust: a relative, childcare provider, family friend, neighbor, teacher, coach, or clergy member. Children may worry that others won’t believe them and will be angry with them if they tell. They may believe that the abuse is their fault, and the shame is devastating and can cause lifelong effects.

Signs of sexual child abuse
Behavioral signs. Does the child display knowledge or interest in sexual acts inappropriate to his or her age, or even seductive behavior? A child might appear to avoid another person, or display unusual behavior- either being very aggressive or very passive. Older children might resort to destructive behaviors to take away the pain, such as alcohol or drug abuse, self-mutilation, or suicide attempts.

Physical signs. A child may have trouble sitting or standing, or have stained, bloody or torn underclothes. Swelling, bruises, or bleeding in the genital area is a red flag. An STD or pregnancy, especially under the age of 14, is a strong cause of concern.

Caregiver signs. The caregiver may seem to be unusually controlling and protective of the child, limiting contact with other children and adults. Again, as with other types of abuse, sometimes the caregiver does not give outward signs of concern. This does not mean the child is lying or exaggerating.

Child neglect
Child neglect is the most frequent form of child abuse. Neglect is a pattern of failing to provide for a child's basic needs, endangering a child's physical and psychological well-being. Child neglect is not always deliberate. Sometimes, a caregiver becomes physically or mentally unable to care for a child, such as in untreated depression or anxiety. Other times, alcohol or drug abuse may seriously impair judgment and the ability to keep a child safe. The end result, however, is a child who is not getting their physical and/or emotional needs met.

Warning signs of child neglect
Physical signs. A child may consistently be dressed inappropriately for the weather, or have ill-fitting, dirty clothes and shoes. They might appear to have consistently bad hygiene, like appearing very dirty, matted and unwashed hair, or noticeable body odor. Another warning sign is untreated illnesses and physical injuries.

Behavioral signs. Does the child seem to be unsupervised? School children may be frequently late or tardy. The child might show troublesome, disruptive behavior or be withdrawn and passive.

Caregiver signs. Does the caregiver have problems with drugs or alcohol? While most of us have a little clutter in the home, is the caregivers home filthy and unsanitary? Is there adequate food in the house? A caregiver might also show reckless disregard for the child's safety, letting older children play unsupervised or leaving a baby unattended. A caregiver might refuse or delay necessary health care for the child.

What to do if a child reports abuse
You may feel overwhelmed and confused if a child begins talking to you about abuse. It is a difficult subject and hard to accept, and you might not know what to say. The best help you can provide is calm, unconditional support and reassurance. Let your actions speak for you if you are having trouble finding the words. Remember that it is a tremendous act of courage for children to come forward about abuse. They might have been told specifically not to tell, and may even feel that the abuse is normal. They might feel they are to blame for the abuse. The child is looking to you to provide support and help- don’t let him or her down.

Avoid denial and remain calm. A common reaction to news as unpleasant and shocking as child abuse is denial. However, if you display denial to a child, or show shock or disgust at what they are saying, the child may be afraid to continue and will shut down. As hard as it may be, remain as calm and reassuring as you can.

Don’t interrogate. Let the child explain to you in his/her own words what happened, but don’t interrogate the child or ask leading questions. This may confuse and fluster the child and make it harder for them to continue their story.

Reassure the child that they did nothing wrong. It takes a lot for a child to come forward about abuse. Reassure him or her that you take what is said seriously, and that it is not the child's fault.

Reporting child abuse and neglect
Reporting child abuse seems so official. Many people are reluctant to get involved in other families lives. However, by reporting, you can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child and the child's family, especially if you help stop the abuse early. Early identification and treatment can help mitigate the long-term effects of abuse. If the abuse is stopped and the child receives competent treatment, the abused child can begin to regain a sense of self-confidence and trust. Some parents may also benefit from support, parent training and anger management.

Reporting child abuse: Myths and Facts I don’t want to interfere in some one else's family. The effects of child abuse are lifelong, affecting future relationships, self esteem, and sadly putting even more children at risk of abuse as the cycle continues. Help break the cycle of child abuse.

What if I break up someone's home? The priority in child protective services is keeping children in the home. A child abuse report does not mean a child is automatically removed from the home - unless the child is clearly in danger. Support such as parenting classes, anger management or other resources may be offered first to parents if safe for the child.

They will know it was me who called. Reporting is anonymous. In most states, you do not have to give your name when you report child abuse. The child abuser cannot find out who made the report of child abuse.

It won’t make a difference what I have to say. If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, it is better to be safe than sorry. Even if you don’t see the whole picture, others may have noticed as well, and a pattern can help identify child abuse that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

Child Abuse Hotlines: Where to call to get help or report abuse
If you suspect a child is in immediate danger contact law enforcement as soon as possible.

To get help in the U.S., call:
1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) – Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline

To get help for child sexual abuse, call:

1-888-PREVENT (1-888-773-8368) – Stop It Now

1-800-656-HOPE Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)

Child abuse prevention
Reducing the incidence of child abuse is a matter of intervention and education.

Intervention
In some cases, as in cases of extreme cruelty, sexual abuse, and severe alcohol and drug abuse, children are safer away from the caregiver. Not all abusive parents intend harm to their children, however. Some parents need help to realize that they are hurting their children, and can work on their problems. Some examples include:

Domestic violence. A mother might be trying to do her best to protect her children from an abusive husband, not realizing that the children are being emotionally abused even if they are not physically abused. Helping a mother leave an abusive relationship and getting supportive counseling can help stop these children from being abused.

Alcohol and drug abuse. Alcohol and drug abusers may be so focused on their addiction that they are hurting their children without realizing it. Getting appropriate help and support for alcohol and drug abuse can help parents focus back on their children. Untreated mental illness. A depressed mother might not be able to respond to her own needs much less her children's. A caregiver suffering from emotional trauma may be distant and withdrawn from her children, or quick to anger without understanding why. Treatment for the caregiver means better care for the children.

In some cases, you might be able to provide support for parents/caregivers who need help yourself. What if a parent or caregiver comes to you? The key is not to be self-righteous or judgmental, which can alienate caregivers, but offer support and concrete offers of help, such as helping them connect with community resources. If you feel that your safety or the safety of the child would be threatened if you try to intervene, leave it to the professionals. You may be able to provide more support later after the initial professional intervention.

For caregivers
Do you see yourself in some of these descriptions, painful as it may be? Do you feel angry and frustrated and don’t know where to turn? Caring for children can be very difficult. Don’t go it alone. Ask for help if you need it. If you don’t have a friend or family to turn to, call the child abuse hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, yourself. The hotline is also designed to get you support and find resources in the community that can help you.

About the Author

Single Mother Income Authority is a help site for battered women also. http://www.easysinglemotherpay.com

Jason Bay Mets Interview SIGNING

first baseball player

Who was the first ever baseball player you ever known?

Even if you don't know what comes to mind?
For me it was Big Papi!

Reggie Jackson.

Baseball Tips : Buying A Child's First Baseball Glove