Community Corner
UPDATE: Where and How to Carpool During a BART Strike
Locations, tips and "etiquette" for the new carpooler, including casual carpool sites in Rockridge, return carpool sites from San Francisco and exclusive use of the West Grand on-ramp for carpools, public transit and commercial vehicles.
Click on the map for casual carpooling locations.
Tips for casual carpooling and more formal car and vanpools:
If you want to find a casual carpool, post an announcement in our Boards on the homepage.
Casual Car Pool News lists frequently used casual carpool locations in Oakland Piedmont and other parts of the East Bay. For those new to casual carpooling, there's an FAQ and a section on "rules" and etiquette. The site seems responsible and up-to-date.
511.org's rideshare page has lots of tips and information on everything from casual carpooling to formal, regular vanpools. There's a RideMatch service that can help you quickly find carpools with beginning and ending destinations close to yours.
511.org lists the following casual carpool sites in Rockridge:
- Claremont Avenue and Hudson Street (492 Hudson, under Hwy. 24 just before Claremont)
- Claremont and College avenues (6240 Claremont, north side of Claremont in front of Safeway)
The site notes that, "In the event of a BART strike, BARTwill allow carpoolers to park in BART station lots, so you could also search for carpool partners using your regular BART station as your starting point."
Carpool drivers:
Temporary HOV 3+ (carpool with 3 or more passengers) Designation for West Grand Avenue On-Ramp to the Bay Bridge During a strike, Caltrans will restrict the use of the West Grand Avenue on-ramp at Maritime Street in Oakland for exclusive use by public transit, HOV 3+ and commercial vehicles to access the Bay Bridge toll plaza. The hours of operation will be weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Vehicles with 3 or more passengers, buses, motorcycles, and commercial trucks will be allowed during these times. Buses and HOV 3+ vehicles will also be permitted to drive on the shoulder in order to access the bus/HOV 3+ lane at the toll facility. CHP will be enforcing this designation closely.
I-80 HOV 3+ Hours Expanded During a strike, Caltrans will expand the HOV 3+ hours on I-80 to be non-stop from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. NOTE: The HOV 3+ lane in the westbound direction of I-80 runs between the Carquinez Bridge and the Bay Bridge toll plaza. The HOV 3+ lane in the eastbound direction of I-80 runs between Powell St. in Emeryville and the Carquinez Bridge. Remember that carpools are required to have FasTrak® to receive discounted tolls when crossing bridges.
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