Make BART Automated!

One of the most interesting things that I learned in my mass transportation class at Berkeley is that BART can run entirely automated. When BART was first built in the 70’s it was demonstrated that the system can run without drivers, but the leaders of the project thought that the public wouldn’t want to put their fate in a computer’s hands. That initial decision has had lasting consequences: due to strong unions, BART administrators now cannot eliminate drivers. The public trusts automated trains - wikipedia has a list of "large scale metros" that are driverless - so why don’t we make the trains automated and put all of those driver salaries towards making BART run at night and add additional lines? My frustration with BART comes from the fact that they are always somehow strapped for cash despite the fact that passengers pay exorbitant prices to pack themselves like sardines in a 10-car train for a quick ride under the bay. It costs $8.65 to go from SFO to downtown Berkeley, but to go the full length of the route, SFO-Pittsburg/Baypoint costs $10.90, and with an average of 75 people per car (that's how many in my BART car as as I write), that's a ton of money.

 QUICK MATH: ~75 people x 10-car train x $10.90 =  $8,175. The full trip takes 1hr 20 mins. Where does all the money go? Service. Look at these salaries of BART employees. Drivers, known as "train operators" can make more than $136,000 dollars a year + awesome benefits. For what?... driving  - something a computer could do a better job at doing, it seems. I guess just knowing that other metros, like Vancouver's SkyTrain, have used technology to liberate human beings from the unnecessary task of driving makes it feel like something within BART's reach. To me this is representative of a larger movement as we move forward of making computers do menial labor for us wherever possible.

It looks like BART,
 but it's the 47 mile driverless SkyTrain of Vancouver

The most ridiculous aspect of BART is that it doesn’t run at night. How is it possible that BART trains don’t run between the hours of 1am and 7am on weekends? Do the administrators not realize that such a decision is absolutely crippling to everyone in the Bay Area? 

The effect it has on my life is that when I go clubbing in the City, it means that me and my friends can't get home afterward, so I end up getting in a car with a drunk driver. It means I can't make the 7:35am flight from SFO to Santa Barbara which is my only chance flying standby (my dad works at the airport).

So why don't they run it at night? Again, service. You have to pay everyone more for working late-night. If there weren't drivers, would all-night trains fit into the budget? How about all of those extensions, like to the San Jose airport? 

Let's embrace technology and modernize BART.