By | Bay Area News GroupCalifornians who swapped mind-numbing traffic and packed trains for “commutes” to a home office or living room don’t want to go back to their old daily grind.That’s according to released Monday, which found more than half of those surveyed who are now telecommuting want to keep working from home at least three days a week after the pandemic ends. Just 18% are hoping they’ll go back to in-person work every day.In the Bay Area, where each weekday enduring some of the nation’s worst traffic, those attitudes could keep congestion from when more offices reopen.USC...…By | Bay Area News GroupCalifornians who swapped mind-numbing traffic and packed trains for “commutes” to a home office or living room don’t want to go back to their old daily grind.That’s according to released Monday, which found more than half of those surveyed who are now telecommuting want to keep working from home at least three days a week after the pandemic ends. Just 18% are hoping they’ll go back to in-person work every day.In the Bay Area, where each weekday enduring some of the nation’s worst traffic, those attitudes could keep congestion from when more offices reopen.USC...WW…

By | Bay Area News GroupImagine if transferring from BART to Caltrain was as easy as taking a few steps from one train to another.Their arrivals would be synced up, so you wouldn’t be greeted by an empty platform and a long wait. The price of your ticket would be based on how far you go, not which train you use, so you wouldn’t have to pay extra for the switch. Maps at every stop would show Caltrain’s line of stations up the Peninsula alongside BART’s routes through San Francisco, the East Bay and the South Bay.Backers of this vision say merging BART and Caltrain into a single regional rail...…By | Bay Area News GroupImagine if transferring from BART to Caltrain was as easy as taking a few steps from one train to another.Their arrivals would be synced up, so you wouldn’t be greeted by an empty platform and a long wait. The price of your ticket would be based on how far you go, not which train you use, so you wouldn’t have to pay extra for the switch. Maps at every stop would show Caltrain’s line of stations up the Peninsula alongside BART’s routes through San Francisco, the East Bay and the South Bay.Backers of this vision say merging BART and Caltrain into a single regional rail...WW…

By | Bay Area News GroupThe $2.3 trillion infrastructure package President Joe Biden rolled out last week has backers of the California bullet train dreaming of what could be.The could provide the beleaguered project with billions of dollars needed to bring high-speed rail to the Bay Area or even Los Angeles. Or its share could be much, much less.One thing is for sure: Without a whole lot more federal money, it could end up being a costly, controversial train with only five stops between Merced and Bakersfield.“It’s really a lifeline for the system,” UC Berkeley professor Ethan Elkind said...…By | Bay Area News GroupThe $2.3 trillion infrastructure package President Joe Biden rolled out last week has backers of the California bullet train dreaming of what could be.The could provide the beleaguered project with billions of dollars needed to bring high-speed rail to the Bay Area or even Los Angeles. Or its share could be much, much less.One thing is for sure: Without a whole lot more federal money, it could end up being a costly, controversial train with only five stops between Merced and Bakersfield.“It’s really a lifeline for the system,” UC Berkeley professor Ethan Elkind said...WW…

By and | Bay Area News GroupThe majority of greater Bay Area communities have exited the most-limited stage of California’s coronavirus restrictions, as three more local counties moved Tuesday into the “red” reopening tier.Alameda, Santa Cruz and Solano were among six counties statewide to graduate out of the tightest restrictions in according to a weekly update of the state’s .The move means that the Oakland A’s are on track to , under rules the state , outdoor venues and amusement parks to host limited-capacity public events starting April 1 as long as their areas are in the red tier or...…By and | Bay Area News GroupThe majority of greater Bay Area communities have exited the most-limited stage of California’s coronavirus restrictions, as three more local counties moved Tuesday into the “red” reopening tier.Alameda, Santa Cruz and Solano were among six counties statewide to graduate out of the tightest restrictions in according to a weekly update of the state’s .The move means that the Oakland A’s are on track to , under rules the state , outdoor venues and amusement parks to host limited-capacity public events starting April 1 as long as their areas are in the red tier or...WW…

By | Bay Area News GroupFor much of the first year of his daughter’s life, Dallas Hartwell barely got to see her during the week. Teaching world history and coaching football at Terra Linda High School in San Rafael meant commuting two hours each way from their home in Vacaville.“She was asleep when I left the house, and she would be in bed by the time I got home,” Hartwell said.Then, nearly one year ago, a spreading global pandemic erased his commute.On a recent Friday afternoon rush hour, instead of crawling down a traffic-choked Highway 37, Hartwell was pushing 2-year-old Alice on a...…By | Bay Area News GroupFor much of the first year of his daughter’s life, Dallas Hartwell barely got to see her during the week. Teaching world history and coaching football at Terra Linda High School in San Rafael meant commuting two hours each way from their home in Vacaville.“She was asleep when I left the house, and she would be in bed by the time I got home,” Hartwell said.Then, nearly one year ago, a spreading global pandemic erased his commute.On a recent Friday afternoon rush hour, instead of crawling down a traffic-choked Highway 37, Hartwell was pushing 2-year-old Alice on a...WW…

VACAVILLE, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Dallas Hartwell plays with his two-year-old daughter Alice Hartwell in the backyard of their home in Vacaville, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Hartwell, a Terra Linda high school teacher in Marin County, spends more time with his family since school went virtual last year and he started working from home. Before the pandemic and distance learning was in effect he spent three to four hours per day driving to and from work. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)For much of the first year of his daughter’s life, Dallas Hartwell barely got to see her during the week....…VACAVILLE, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Dallas Hartwell plays with his two-year-old daughter Alice Hartwell in the backyard of their home in Vacaville, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Hartwell, a Terra Linda high school teacher in Marin County, spends more time with his family since school went virtual last year and he started working from home. Before the pandemic and distance learning was in effect he spent three to four hours per day driving to and from work. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)For much of the first year of his daughter’s life, Dallas Hartwell barely got to see her during the week....WW…

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: A new AC Transit Tempo bus is seen along International Boulevard in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Drivers who park illegally at bus stops or in transit-only lanes could get ticketed more often if a proposal in California’s state Legislature becomes law., D-Los Angeles, allows bus agencies to install automated cameras on the front of their coaches, which could capture the license plate of any car parked in bus stops or dedicated bus lanes.The vehicle’s owner would get a ticket in the mail and, Bloom and the bill’s...…OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: A new AC Transit Tempo bus is seen along International Boulevard in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Drivers who park illegally at bus stops or in transit-only lanes could get ticketed more often if a proposal in California’s state Legislature becomes law., D-Los Angeles, allows bus agencies to install automated cameras on the front of their coaches, which could capture the license plate of any car parked in bus stops or dedicated bus lanes.The vehicle’s owner would get a ticket in the mail and, Bloom and the bill’s...WW…

Spurred by a scathing report that called the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority “one of the in the country,” a South Bay lawmaker is taking action to overhaul the agency’s board.Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Los Altos, introduced legislation Thursday that would scrap the current VTA board — an 18-member body made up of local elected officials who critics say lack the expertise or time to adequately oversee the authority — and replace it with appointed members of the public with experience in transportation, finance and other fields related to running an agency.Berman says the overhaul...…Spurred by a scathing report that called the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority “one of the in the country,” a South Bay lawmaker is taking action to overhaul the agency’s board.Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Los Altos, introduced legislation Thursday that would scrap the current VTA board — an 18-member body made up of local elected officials who critics say lack the expertise or time to adequately oversee the authority — and replace it with appointed members of the public with experience in transportation, finance and other fields related to running an agency.Berman says the overhaul...WW…

SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: Foothill Elementary School 1st graders study inside the multipurpose room at Foothill Elementary School on Feb. 10, 2021 in Saratoga, Calif. On Wednesday, some students returned to classrooms in the Saratoga Union Elementary District, which includes Foothill Elementary School, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced their closure in March, 2020. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)As children in the tony enclave of Piedmont trotted into classrooms Wednesday, Jolanka Nickerman and her daughters gathered outside a shuttered elementary school in...…SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: Foothill Elementary School 1st graders study inside the multipurpose room at Foothill Elementary School on Feb. 10, 2021 in Saratoga, Calif. On Wednesday, some students returned to classrooms in the Saratoga Union Elementary District, which includes Foothill Elementary School, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced their closure in March, 2020. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)As children in the tony enclave of Piedmont trotted into classrooms Wednesday, Jolanka Nickerman and her daughters gathered outside a shuttered elementary school in...WW…

By | Bay Area News GroupIt would take decades of work and billions of dollars to become a reality. But if it does, this is the map planners say would revolutionize how people get around the Bay Area.Drawn up by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute for , the map shows more than a dozen ideas to improve rail service and connect residents across the Northern California “megaregion” with frequent, reliable public transportation.At the heart of the concept: A second rail crossing between San Francisco and Oakland, carrying BART and other regional train lines and giving the system enough...…By | Bay Area News GroupIt would take decades of work and billions of dollars to become a reality. But if it does, this is the map planners say would revolutionize how people get around the Bay Area.Drawn up by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute for , the map shows more than a dozen ideas to improve rail service and connect residents across the Northern California “megaregion” with frequent, reliable public transportation.At the heart of the concept: A second rail crossing between San Francisco and Oakland, carrying BART and other regional train lines and giving the system enough...WW…