This is a small example of what we have been advocating. The transit
industry has to stop it's polarizing rhetoric of "clean" guys vs.
"dirty" guys, good trains vs. bad cars. Buses can, and should
utilize alternative technologies and become more fuel efficient
energy users. (However, it's not at all clear at this time what that
should be.) Buses can, and should have dedicated lanes. Buses can,
and should be much more attractive and convenient. Everything can't
be solved by laying down more rail. Rail promoters have to stop
thinking it's their way or no way.
=========================================

Bus line to connect commuters

May 18, 2007 3:00 AM
by Edward Carpenter, The Examiner

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A new business-class bus route catering to
East Bay commuters who work at several major tech companies on the
Peninsula is set for a summer launch, and will come complete with
reclining seats and wireless Internet service. Sorry lattes, however,
won't be served on board. (Edit: I don't know why not!)

Employees of Oracle, the Stanford Midpoint medical center and Sun
Microsystems will be able to jump on AC Transit in Castro Valley or
Hayward for a direct link across the San Mateo Bridge to office
campuses beginning in August, according to AC Transit spokesman
Clarence Johnson.

The new route, approved Wednesday by AC Transit board members, will
continue on across the Dumbarton Bridge to Union City, also running
in reverse.

Buses will depart every 30 minutes during the peak hours of 6 to 10
a.m. and 3 to 8 p.m., Johnson said. Peninsula stops include Metro
Center in Foster City, the Hillsdale Caltrain station in San Mateo,
Oracle, Stanford Midpoint and Sun Microsystems, according to AC
Transit.

The route is the first in the Bay Area to cross two bridges and
stands out as an example of how some Bay Area transit operators are
looking to break down barriers, whether geographic- or fare-related,
Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman John Goodwin said.

More than two dozen AC Transit buses are already making 700 trips a
day across the Bay Bridge, offering similar amenities to the Transbay
Terminal, Johnson said.

MTC, in coordination with local transit agencies, has been a leader
in implementing TransLink, a credit card-like ticket designed to
allow transit riders to transfer between agencies by paying with one
pass, Goodwin said. TransLink, currently in the limited-testing
phase, is scheduled for system-wide launch by AC Transit and Golden
Gate Transit in coming months, Goodwin said.

BART, Muni and Caltrain are tentatively scheduled to come on board by
the end of the year, Goodwin said.
AC Transit decided to expand Peninsula service along U.S. Highway 101
to the various tech campuses after employees at Redwood Shores-based
Oracle pointed out how many people would likely take the service if
it stopped closer to campus, Johnson said.

Oracle estimates 800-1,000 of its employees live in the East Bay, 50
percent near Fremont. Stanford's new medical campus, currently under
construction, expects about 10 percent of its initial 200-500
employees - 8,000 are expected to work at the campus by 2009 - to
take the services once it opens, Johnson said.
As more people move to the Bay Area and development begins to cluster
around transit centers, more barriers are likely to come down
improving interconnectivity, Goodwin said.

ecarpenter@examiner.com

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