BART Beleaguered

At 5:45 on the morning of Sept. 16, a sleek aluminum train glided out of Oakland, Calif., through a tube under the bay and into San Francisco. The trip formally opened the first regional urban rail-transit system to be completed in the U.S. since 1924; now the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) extends to 33 stations along an X-shaped 71-mile-long route. But despite the outpouring of civic pride last week, BART looks to many planners, politicians and passengers less like an X than a giant question mark.

The system was designed as a model solution for the nation's traffic-congested cities, rolling proof that a properly designed rail system could lure commuters out of their cars. It was a severe test for mass transit; most Californians regard auto travel as a basic part of their freewheeling lifestyle. So BART'S stations were made particularly bright and pleasant. Its trams are fast (80 m.p.h.), comfortable, clean. Its fares, which run from 30-c- to $1.25, depending on the miles traveled, are lower than those for equivalent bus trips. Everything, from ticketing to train schedules, is controlled by computer. But just about everything that could go wrong has.

Runaway inflation and construction delays drove building costs up from the $1 billion that was originally budgeted in 1962 to $1.6 billion. BART's bad luck also came in smaller forms: gophers gnawed through the plastic casements of underground cables in 1971, forcing extensive and expensive repairs.

Then, when the first part of the system, a 26-mile route from North Oakland to Fremont, finally started operations in 1972, electronic bugs attacked. A train pulling into Fremont got a wrong signal from the computer and plunged off the end of the elevated track, slightly injuring five passengers. On 19 separate occasions, the doors of speeding cars opened to other signals; no one was hurt. Perhaps most exasperating were the frequent failures of automatic controls that stalled trains and stranded passengers throughout the system.

Many would-be riders, who might have given up the door-to-door convenience of their autos, were clearly put off by the system's equipment troubles. Instead of carrying the expected 80,000 passengers a day, BART'S average to last week has been only 73,000 per day; now that service to the city has opened, that figure is expected to double. Even so, fare-box receipts still will not pay BART's way. To meet construction and operating costs, a special half-cent sales tax was levied in the three counties served by the system. But California Governor Ronald Reagan is threatening to veto a bill to extend that tax for two years. If he does, BART will have to shut down on Oct. 1.

Even if Reagan signs the bill, BART must find a way to make ends meet when the tax extension runs out. No matter what solutions are devised, the basic question is still whether BART--or any other fine transit system--can convince commuters to forsake rubber for rails.

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