BART is encouraging travelers to plan ahead, avoid unnecessary transbay travel, or to find alternate means of transportation across the Bay during Labor Day weekend. BART will close the West Oakland Station and will not run trains between West Oakland and Embarcadero stations on September 5,6, &7th, while we repair a critical section of track near the Transbay Tube.
Bus Bridge Details
BART will offer lifeline bus service between 19th Street in Oakland and the Temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco, but the buses are intended only for those who have no other options. The buses will carry customers from 19th Street Station in Oakland to the Temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco (a 2 block walk to the Embarcadero Station) or from there back to the East Bay. There will be no additional charge for the bus. The bus bridge will cause 30 minutes to one hour delays for some customers. During our earlier transbay closure in August, the bus trip took about 20 minutes, but when you factor in walking to/from the bus connection, it took about 30 mintutes. Check out our tips page for more details about how to get from the Temporary Transbay Terminal to the Embarcadero Station.
Accommodations will be available for people with disabilities.
West Oakland Station Closure
There will be some shuttle buses to/from West Oakland Station, which is closed during the shut down, to/from the 19th Street Station for West Oakland area residents only. These shuttles will pick up and drop off from the “kiss & ride” curb on the Chester street side of the West Oakland station, and will pick up and drop off on Broadway, just before 20th street at the 19th Street Station. Shuttles will run while BART is operating and will leave every 15 minutes (on both ends) on the hour, quarter hours and 1/2 hour. No fares will be collected on this neighborhood shuttle for West Oakland residents. We are not able to keep West Oakland Station open during this work because we can not easily turn trains around from that station. With only two tracks, there would be very significant delays in the East Bay if we attempted to run trains through West Oakland during the work. See our tips page for a map of the pick up site at West Oakland Station.
Alternative Options
During the shutdown, customers are encouraged to use other public transit transbay options such as ferries and AC Transit service. Check out www.511.org for trip planning. San Francisco Bay Ferry will have additional service on its Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco and Vallejo/San Francisco routes during the BART closures. AC Transit also has its transbay service.
Riders are encouraged to lock their bikes at our stations rather than bringing them on crowded buses.
“We understand the interruption in service will be a significant inconvenience for tens of thousands of people but we simply can’t avoid making these repairs,” said BART Assistant General Manager for Operations Paul Oversier. “We need to completely rebuild one of the hardest working sections of track in the entire BART system. Once the work is finished, riders can expect a faster, smoother ride between West Oakland and Embarcadero.”
Train Service Details
During the shutdown, train service within the East Bay and within the West Bay and the Peninsula will be more frequent than during a typical weekend. Check out our tips page for more specific details.
Got Questions?
BART’s Transit Information Center will operate special hours during the shutdown and will be staffed with additional operators. Riders with questions can call (510) 465-BART (2278). The phone center will be open from 6:00AM-9:00PM on Saturday Sept. 5 and Sunday Sept. 6 and from 8:00AM-9:00PM on Monday Sept. 7th.
Extra staff, including bilingual employees will be at 19th Street Station, Embarcadero, and the Temporary Transbay Terminal to help passengers.
Check out our tips for travel during the transbay shutdown
Watch an archive of our July 28th online town hall we held to answer questions about the work and our service plan at www.bart.gov/townhall (click on “town hall” watch now from July 28)
