Jaunted

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City Wants To Know: Who BARTed?

This weekend we thought we spotted a new type of panhandler on Bay Area Rapid Transit, who appeared to be giving things out instead of asking for them. As she got closer we discovered she wanted something even cheaper than our change: Our opinions!

The new survey from BART is aimed at folks who use San Francisco's underground rapid transit system specifically for its airport access, asking the purpose of our trips (Picking up or dropping off? Business or pleasure?) and how we found out about BART. Interestingly, one question asked whether we had been given the opportunity to purchase a BART ticket when booking a flight to or hotel in the Bay Area--which we weren't, but it would have saved us the frustration of trying to make the BART machine at SFO give us a ticket under $20. (Note to security: We didn't really kick it! It was just a tap.)

Anyway, we can't find any information on the BART website about the survey, although it might be related to a proposal last year to drive up ridership along the stops close to SFO by offering special satellite airport parking lots. Cranky riders take note: The survey taker asked once, politely, and then backed off from anyone unwilling to take part.

Related Stories:
· BART Cards: Good For More Than Just BARTing [Jaunted]
· BART Pours Cold Water on Coffee Plan [NBC Bay Area]
· BART to Court SFO Passengers [SF Chronicle, via sanbrunobart.com]

[Photo: blmurch]