San Jose Inside is at it again, now claiming that they and Mayor Gonzales have "vision" and the rest of us who live here don't.
Of course, they are talking about BART. Yes, it takes vision to bring a 40 year old technology to the "Capital of Silicon Valley".
But that vision isn't 20-20. These are trains that don't have bathrooms. These are trains with limited bicycle support. These are trains that smell, because they have spent the last 30 years transporting people in and out of San Francisco. These are trains that only run on a non-standard tracks, that few (if more than one) companies build for.
By the time BART arrives, the system will be 50 years old.
In the mean time, our other transit systems have grown and matured.
VTA light rail has replaced its passenger cars once in the last 20 years. They are more handicapped-friendly. They don't have restrooms, but you can put your bike on board. And the trains run miles from downtown.
Caltrain has replaced its passenger cars twice in the last 20 years. They offer both bathrooms and bicycle storage on board. With the baby bullet service, you can get from San Jose to San Francisco in 62 minutes.
Thirty years ago, it took 45 minutes to go from Fremont to San Francisco on BART. Today it still takes that.
With BART to San Jose, will it take less than 62 minutes? Is it worth $4 billion and scrapping all other transit projects, just to find out?
How is that vision?
1:54:49 PM 
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