The "Midnight" Train of the Bay Area

Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART)

Ever since I had my own car, I drove anywhere. It just seemed easier and convenient for me. The days of taking public transportation is long gone for me, I thought. Last night, I took the BART to Rockridge to meet up with a friend for dinner. Some notes...

1. When the train went past Embarcadero station, the last station in San Francisco if you're headed towards the East Bay, I distinctly felt my heartbeat go a little faster. And it wasn't because of the dinner company. What lies beyond that part of the Bay is new territory to me. I don't usually go past Embarcadero unless I am driving. I wasn't quite sure of what to expect when I reach my destination.

2. BART is convenient for me only when I am going to downtown San Francisco. I am familiar with the stops in the city as I can imagine the crossstreets outside the station. Past the city, I am lost. And nervous. And wondering if I took the right train or not.

3. Crossing the bay using BART is expensive! I mean, it's meant to discourage people from driving into the city! But if I lived on East Bay, I probably would drive, specially if I know I have available parking. I guess you'll have to factor in the time for traffic and the lack of cheap parking in the city to make it worthwhile. But if someone is making the minimum hourly wage from a job in the city, the first two hours is already spent on BART fare.

4. With the exception of four downtown stations and the other SF stations, other BART stops are a little confounding for me. Sometimes, in order to transfer to a different train, you have to get out, go down, then go back up, cross over and hopefully, you're on the correct platfrom. Confusing as hell and the signs are not that helpful. Directions posted, if you can find them, are in small print! I guess you can ask for help from the station agents but that involves going up to the entrance and hoping they're at their little booth.

5. Crossing the Transbay tube is always fascinating and scary. The tube is a tunnel connecting San Francisco to the rest of the Bay Area. Actually, there are two tubes; one is going east and the other, west. They run under the San Francisco Bay and were considered an engineering feat when BART first opened. You can feel the pressure change once the train enters this area as your ears start popping. Very disconcerting since you know you're underwater. Oh yeah, the tubes sway depending on the waves. It is anchored of course but they sway. And if you can actually see through the window, there is water on the tracks! Yikes! What if it busts or there is an earthquake or a tsunami?

6. People watching on BART is always interesting. For most, it's just a commuter thing; a way to get in and out of the crazy city of San Francisco. You see all kinds of people: dressed in suits, jeans and t-shirts, the ocassional fur coat for those going out. You see almost everyone "shutting down" everybody else as they pull out the ubiquitous iPods, their knitting projects, the unread magazines and newspapers and the hardbound books from their city libraries. Some sleep or nap while others stare out of the window. But I check out the people. There are some cute guys who ride the train.

7. A very good friend has had first-hand experience (more than once!) on this but it seems that the last car of the last scheduled train from San Francisco (or anywhere) is a big "cruising" area. Kinda like the mile-high club but on a train instead. He said normally there are a few guys back there and are all waiting to get "cruised" or are themselves "cruising". Some are brave enough to actually have sex on the train (security cameras be damned!) and some wait until their stop or the other guy's stop. Then they get off the train and do it in the station's restroom, if they have one. My friend, though, gets "picked up" and they do it in the guy's car which is parked in the station. His two criterias are: the guy must exit the station when he exits and must have a car. If not, then he doesn't bother. No wonder it's called the "midnight" train of the bay area!

8. If you have claustrophobia, then BART is not for you. When the doors close, you're pretty much helpless until the next station. The other thing that gets me is the smell of the train. Ugh! It's sweat, mixed with people's colognes/perfumes, mixed with whatever else. That maybe the other reason why I don't "do BART" long-distance.