BART Strike Could Jam Bay Area Roads

About 100,000 commuters face the threat of freeway parking lots and monster gridlock Monday as both sides in a contract dispute predict a strike against the Bay Area Rapid Transit train system.

A state mediator was called in to get the disputing sides, BART and 1,200 maintenance and clerical workers of Local 790, United Public Employees Union, to reconcile their differences. BART spokesman Mike Healy said Saturday that both sides plan to renew their talks during the weekend.

“There are a bunch of people scurrying around trying to see if they can get this thing settled,” said BART board member Howard Abelson of El Cerrito. “But it’s not looking too good.”

To meet the strike threat, BART announced that it will run trains from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday if there is a walkout, but will operate only half as much equipment as normal during the morning and evening commutes. Healy said BART usually has 45 trains on the rails during commute hours.

Could Jam Highways

The strike has been called for 12:01 a.m. Monday. Officials said that if everyone abandoned by the train system commutes by car, it would add 30,000 cars to the 60,000 rush-hour vehicles that compete for position on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

State Department of Transportation officials do not expect all train commuters to hit the road, but they said that a heavy crush is in the cards if a strike occurs.