The Coliseum-Oakland International Airport line, also known informally as the BART to OAK line, is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system operated by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) between BART's Coliseum Station and Oakland International Airport. The system opened for revenue service on November 22, 2014 and is integrated into BART's fare system. During planning and construction, it was known as the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project.
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Overview
The BART to Oakland International Airport AGT system replaces the former AirBART shuttle bus service. Initially operating between two terminal stations, the system includes provisions for an intermediate third station (Doolittle station) that may be built at a later date.
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Fares
On June 12, 2014, the BART Board of Directors voted to set the base fare for travel on the BART to Oakland International Airport AGT system at $6. The Board left open the possibility that temporary promotional fares could be introduced in the future. In addition, seniors, people with disabilities, and children age 12 and under will be eligible for BART's 62.5% discount. Subject to approval, BART staff planned to recommend at a later Board meeting that airport employees continue to pay a discounted fare of $2.00 for the trip on the new service. The connector operates with a farebox recovery ratio of 96%.
Operations
The Coliseum-Oakland International Airport AGT system is operated by BART and is integrated into BART's existing fare system. However, it does not utilize existing BART rolling stock and it is not physically connected with existing BART tracks. Instead it has its own fleet of AGT vehicles that operate on fixed guideways and are cable-drawn. The guideways and Cable Liner vehicles were built by DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car. The line is designed to have an approximate headway of 4.5 minutes (though it is currently operated with a headway of 5 minutes) and to complete a one-way trip in approximately 8 minutes, with an on-time performance of more than 99.5%.
Initially there will be four 3-car trains (113 passengers each train), but the system can accommodate an expansion to four 4-car trains (148 passengers each train). The system has four cable loops and one train per cable. The system uses a pinched-loop configuration, with two lines that merge into a single track just before each terminus. Cars switch cables during dwell time at the station. The trains automatically switch cables four times: once at each end, and halfway between the two stops at the wheelhouse, near the intersection of Hegenberger Road and Airport Access Road. The wheelhouse has four 12-foot (3.7 m) drive wheels that move the cables.
The 3.2-mile (5.1 km) AGT route between Oakland Coliseum Station and the airport is mostly elevated, largely in the median of Hegenberger Road, with one underground section as it passes under Doolittle Drive, and one at-grade section just west of that point, before the AGT enters airport property on an elevated guideway. A maintenance and storage facility is located near the midpoint of the system. A two-person team monitors operation of the system from a central control room in the Doolittle maintenance and storage facility.
The AGT's connection to the existing BART system at Coliseum Station resembles the AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark airport people movers' existing off-airport connections to other rail transit lines. In this case however, both the airport people mover and connecting rail transit will be operated by BART and share the same fare system. The Airport station's fare gates are located at Coliseum station, between the line's dedicated platform and the elevated walkway above San Leandro Street linking it to the original platform. Both stations for the line feature platform screen doors - a first for the system.
Funding
The $484 million for funding the project came from local government funds ($275 million, 57%), state funds ($79 million, 16%), federal funds ($25 million, 5%), and BART deficit spending ($106 million, 22%).
In late 2009, just prior to the award of the contract to construct the system, the project lost $70 million of federal stimulus funding because the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) found that BART was out of conformance with Title VI. Among other non-OAC considerations, the FTA cited that BART did not complete the necessary analysis to determine if the future change in service would disproportionately impact low-income or minority communities. The FTA forced the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to reallocate the funding.
By September 2010, all necessary federal and state funding for the OAC had been re-established, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 20.
Alternatives
Trips between the BART station and Oakland Airport can also be made on AC Transit Route 73. AC Transit is cheaper at $2.10, with additional discounts for those transferring. Route 73 runs every 15 minutes daily, which is much less frequent than BART to OAK AGT service and is less frequent than even the former AirBART bus service used to be. Although Route 73 makes several local stops, total trip time is only slightly longer. The airport connection provided by Route 73 is not emphasized; signage and information is the same as the other AC Transit routes serving the station. However, use of Route 73 is advised by BART on those days in which the BART to OAK AGT service is non-operational.
AC Transit route 805 is also available late at night, after BART service ends. This route provides service to Downtown Oakland, where All Nighter connections are available.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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