Friday Marks BART's 4th Highest Ridership Day As Bridge Work Continues
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Friday was another record-setting day for BART as the ongoing Bay Bridge closure led to the transit agency's fourth highest ridership total in its history, BART officials said Saturday.
The transit agency counted a total of 457,018 trips during the second day of the Bay Bridge closure, which is about 57,000 more daily trips than BART sees on average, according to agency officials.
BART officials said the new record came after 475,015 total trips were recorded on BART on Thursday, making the first day of the bridge closure the third busiest day in the transit agency's history.
Round-the-clock service is available at 14 BART stations during the bridge closure, and BART is running longer trains than usual to help accommodate more passengers.
Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol has seen a rise in the number of motorists on alternate routes into the city during the closure including northbound U.S. Highway 101, and the Golden Gate, San Mateo and Richmond-San Rafael bridges, CHP Officer Daniel Hill said.
The CHP is encouraging motorists to take public transportation to to help clear up roadway congestion until the bridge reopening, which is set for 5 a.m. Tuesday.
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