BART’s hiring of an outside consultant for nearly $400,000 to lead its latest set of contract negotiations has its two biggest unions decrying the move as being disruptive and carried out in bad faith.
In October, BART approved a $99,000 pact with Thomas Hock of Veolia Transportation Services to engage in labor talks with its five unions, whose contracts are set to expire June 30. The contract was just below the $100,000 threshold that would have required approval by the BART board of directors.
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A revamped Polk Street proposal that would include safety upgrades at intersections but few improvements for cyclists has garnered support from residents and merchants.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages traffic policies, outraged merchants along the bustling corridor this year by proposing to reduce parking in favor of more access for cyclists. Following the backlash, the agency came back with six new options — three each for portions of Polk Street north and south of Geary Street.
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Every BART police officer will be outfitted with a portable video camera, unruly passengers could face bans from district property and station agent booths might be redesigned as part of the transit agency’s new strategy for improving safety conditions for workers and customers.
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A man who was struck by a SamTrans bus in San Francisco’s Outer Mission neighborhood earlier this week has died, a spokeswoman for the transit agency said
Thursday.
Eugenio Mallari was hit when he stepped onto Mission Street near Valencia Street, just south of Cesar Chavez Street, around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to police.
SamTrans spokeswoman Christine Dunn said that at the time of the collision, the SamTrans Route 391 bus was traveling south, heading from downtown San Francisco to the Caltrain station in Redwood City.
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BART has launched a handy new gadget that will give riders a snapshot of crowding levels on BART trains with a quick tap of their smartphones.
The beta version of the feature, which only estimates crowds, was announced Tuesday.
When riders use the BART QuickPlanner, the trip plan will show one of the following icons indicating the crowding levels on the trains: three heads (heavy crowding), two heads (moderate crowding) or one head (light crowding).
The new online feature was engineered in response to BART’s record ridership levels over the past year.
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A big rig collided with a MUNI light rail vehicle this evening in the city's Bayview District, causing minor injuries to three passengers, a Muni spokesman said.
Muni spokesman Paul Rose said it appears the truck was making an illegal U-turn near the corner of Third Street and Burke Avenue and hit the train shortly before 6 p.m.
Three passengers aboard complained of minor injuries, but none were transported to the hospital, Rose said. Muni is providing bus shuttles from Third and 23rd streets to the end of the line.
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In an effort to increase privacy measures, the duration for which regional officials can keep personal information obtained by the Clipper card is set to be reduced.
Currently, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees the universal transit payment system, can retain personal travel data for up to seven years for cards that are registered.
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BART will review its safety protocols and announce new initiatives to protect passengers and employees — measures that take on new significance in the wake of last week’s bombing attack in Boston and a thwarted railway attack in Canada.
At the Thursday board of directors meeting, BART officials will discuss new communication strategies, upcoming training programs and efforts to improve relationships with other agencies. All of the proposals are aimed at improving safety conditions for workers and passengers, with specifics to be discussed in more detail at the meeting.
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A woman was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after jumping onto the train tracks at a San Francisco BART station on Monday night, an agency spokeswoman said.The woman, who is in her 50s, apparently jumped in front of a train around 9:50 p.m. at the 24th Street Mission station, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.The train traveled over her but did not make contact with her, Trost said.“There were no visible injuries,” she said.
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The 24th Street BART station in San Francisco is closed this evening after a person was hit by a train there, BART officials said.
BART officials announced major delays due to a medical emergency followed by station closures shortly before 10 p.m.
The person's condition is unknown and it is unclear how long the station will remain closed.
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