San Francisco BART workers go on strike after negotiations fail

San Francisco commuters faced severe delays when BART workers last went on strike in July. Photo by Flickr user Michael Dunn

Effective at midnight Thursday, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system workers went on strike after labor union talks broke down. Hundreds of thousands of commuters in the city were forced to find an alternative way into work this morning.

As the nation’s fifth-largest commuter rail system, BART carries more than 400,000 riders daily.

Federal mediators and labor unions were negotiating for months, while unions pushed back their strike deadline several times. When the two groups could not agree on how to enforce work rules, the union workers walked off the job. USA Today reports that this is the second BART strike in four months. In July, employees were on strike for four days.

Commuters this morning chose to drive to work, causing traffic jams on the Bay Bridge. Those who still used public transportation faced long lines and crowded buses.
Whether in their cars or waiting for alternative transport, people posted their disrupted commute on Twitter:

Lines in Oakland for buses in lieu of BART pic.twitter.com/oVugnfRVTV

— Alan McCann (@AlanSbcg) October 18, 2013

When the Bart strikes… #traffic pic.twitter.com/FEDXfu5Kft

— ash (@ashleybernhagen) October 18, 2013

"No Bart service. Expect crowding." pic.twitter.com/o0c8wYtRVa

— Max Slavkin (@maxslavkin) October 18, 2013

H/T Sarah McHaney