BART labor negotiations ended unsuccessfully early this morning and are scheduled to resume this afternoon, according to a BART spokesman.
Contract talks ended at 3 a.m. and are scheduled to resume at 1 p.m. today, BART spokesman Jim Allison said.
In the meantime, on this third day of the BART strike, Caltrans and the popular ridesharing application, Sidecar, are encouraging drivers to share their vehicles with fellow commuters.
Caltrans is offering expanded hours for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to encourage Bay Area commuters to carpool to work during today’s strike.
Caltrans has expanded the HOV 3+ lane on Interstate Highway 80 to be non-stop from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the duration of the strike.
Carpools are required to have FasTrak to receive discounted tolls when crossing bridges, according to Caltrans.
Riders looking to form or join a carpool through Caltrans can check the website, www.511.org, for more information.
The popular rideshare company, Sidecar, is also reaching out to their network of Bay Area community drivers and are providing incentives to drivers who give rides to help ease the impact of the BART strike, according to the Sidecar website.
Sidecar has also asked their Bay Area drivers to turn on their driver app while they commute, so as to fill the unoccupied seats in their vehicles and help additional commuters get in and out of San Francisco, according to a Sidecar spokesperson.
Between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays for the duration of the strike, Sidecar will be donating its share of passenger donations so that all drivers will take 100 percent of donations.
Visit the website, http://www.side.cr/, for more information on sharing a ride through Sidecar during the BART strike.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
