Campus & community, Campus news

How to survive the BART strike

By Public Affairs

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system went on strike Friday, Oct. 18.For Berkeley employees who ride BART to and from work, this is a reminder that staff, supervisors and managers should talk with each other about impacts on commutes and work out options so that the campus can continue business as usual. Berkeley employees are encouraged to explore carpooling and telecommuting from home if operationally feasible, and/or working with their supervisors to arrange flexible work schedules temporarily.

Here are a number of options to help you decide on the best way to get to work without BART.

  • AC Transit – Try taking AC Transit. During the last strike AC Transit offered extended service from many BART parking lots. Check out the AC Transit website to find all the expanded offerings from AC Transit, or 511.org for information on regional trip planning options.
  • Campus Parking – Stop by the Parking & Transportation (P&T) office and purchase some daily permits. If you do not have a monthly permit and you are a transit rider, you are eligible for up to 48 daily permits at the $6 daily rate.
  • Where to park once you have purchased your daily permit: ( Parking map )
    • There is plenty of parking available at the Foothill parking lot located at the top of Hearst Avenue behind the Foothill dorms.
    • Or try the Witter parking lot up at Strawberry Canyon, next to the rugby and softball fields.
    • There is limited availability in the Underhill parking lot, located between Channing and Haste at College Avenue.
  • City of Berkeley Parking – The City of Berkeley has some capacity in its Telegraph and Channing garage. They have an early bird special: in by 9 a.m. and out by 6 p.m. for only $8 a day.
  • Campus Shuttles – Our shuttles circle the campus on a regular schedule and can help get you from Foothill lot to the rest of campus. See our transit page for schedules.
  • Carpool – P&T offers an online ride-matching service so you can automatically be matched with other commuters in your area. Give it a try, go to Zimride and register – once registered, you can input your address and commute times and Zimride will look for others in your area or on your route to catch a ride with.

Hopefully BART management and the union can come to an agreement, but just in case, start planning your alternatives now!

Jeannine Raymond
Assistant Vice Chancellor – Human Resources
UC Berkeley

Seamus Wilmot
Director of Parking and Transportation
UC Berkeley

Members of the Berkeley community can also sign up for BART alerts .