Bay Area Rapid Transit, the main commuter rail system for the region, was forced to close for the Friday morning commute.
The primary transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area was forced to shut down all trains on Friday morning because of a computer problem, sending commuters scrambling to find alternatives with little notice.
Bay Area Rapid Transit, which transports more than 170,000 passengers on weekdays throughout much of the region, said service had been suspended because of a “computer networking” problem. Riders were searching for alternatives, from car pools to local bus services and ferries.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the networking problem or when service was expected to continue. Shortly after 7 a.m., traffic was thick at the freeway to the Bay Bridge, which connects Oakland and other East Bay communities to San Francisco.
Chris Filippi, a spokesman for BART, said in a statement that the computer issues were affecting all 50 stations within the system.
The last time BART faced a similar shutdown, Mr. Filippi said, the issue took several hours to resolve.
Other transit systems appeared to be operating without major issues on Friday. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni bus and rail services, said that it was helping BART riders at certain stations. The San Francisco Bay Ferry said that it was using larger ferries wherever possible to help transport more people.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
