Bikes on BART
- James supports making BART's Bicycle Advisory Committee an official committee, in order to afford its members direct involvement in shaping policies that affect bicyclists.
- During James' tenure, BART implemented new "Bicycle-Friendly" policies, including reducing blackout times for bicycles on trains and seeking ways to further increase bicyclists' access to BART during peak commute times.
- James helped launch BART's public awareness campaign to encourage more riders to bike to BART.
- James wants to designate more bike lanes on key bike routes leading to BART stations in San Francisco, to make biking to BART safer and, thus, help San Francisco achieve its official goal of reducing car-use in The City by 90% by 2010.
- During James' tenure, free secure bike parking was made available at three of the system's busiest stations, and more than 400 bike racks were installed.
- 200 electronic bicycle lockers are scheduled to be installed by Bike to Work Day 2007, and another 100 lockers are expected to be installed by 2008. James Fang supports finding the money and space to install even more electronic bicycle lockers to meet the growing demand for secure bike parking.
- James proposes developing a Spare-the-Air-type incentive program that will allow bicyclists who use BART to ride for free on designated days.
- James proposes partnering with a folding bike company, as BART has done in the past, to promote the use of easy-to-store folding bicycles.
Spare the Air Days
- In July 2006, BART participated in the first annual "National Dump the Pump Day."
- BART riders already save a total of 202,000 gallons of gasoline per day.
- BART reported a 10% increase in ridership on "Spare the Air" days in 2006.
- 33,000 more people rode BART on each of these days.
- 208,000 fewer miles were driven on each "Spare the Air" day, saving an additional 20,510 gallons of gasoline per day.
Taking the Power Back from PG&E
James has helped save more than $100 million of taxpayer money to date by pushing to reduce BART's reliance on PG&E and, instead, utilize cleaner, cheaper and more efficient municipal power.
Cleaner Power
- BART was one of the first transit agencies in the country to conduct alternative electrical energy studies.
- During James' tenure, BART has increased its use of renewable energy by 6%.
- BART expects to meet and exceed the District's set goal of procuring 20% of its electrical power needs from renewable sources by 2010.
- Shortly after James was elected to the BART Board, BART launched an "Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project." A state-of-the-art charging station was installed at the Lafayette BART station to charge an electric van used by a group of BART riders who worked at the nearby PG&E plant. The test was so successful that, in 1993, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District granted BART $700,000 to purchase thirty more electric vehicles and implement an electric vehicle station program. The program, which received high marks, reduced participants' "drive alone" car trips by 42%.
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