The Island

Hey folks, just wanted to lay down a quick note about your commute for Thursday, and possibly for some days to come. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Bay Bridge has been closed since Wednesday afternoon, when two and a half tons of steel came crashing down on the western approach. That means if you’re heading into or through the city, you need to find another way to get to work. Fortunately, the heads of all the transit agencies that serve Alameda and parts beyond have scrambled extra service to get you where you need to go.

First up: Both the Alameda/Oakland and Harbor Bay ferry services have boosted their service during commute times. Each service is running ferries every half hour or so during the morning and evening commutes. You can get the schedules here. (And by the way, did you know that they’ve got an auto-dialer service that provides updates on service changes like this? If you commute by ferry, you really ought to check that out.)

Next up: AC Transit has routed all their Transbay buses to BART stations. Their all-nighter bus will run over the San Mateo Bridge. More here.

And last but not least, BART is running longer trains and fuller schedules while the bridge is closed. They will not be providing overnight service, however (so check the AC Transit item above for more on getting around late at night). More on BART here.

For a quick and comprehensive rundown on how to get from Point A to Point B, you can always click on 511.org, or give ‘em a call (you know the digits). Don’t use their online trip planner though, because it doesn’t have all the new schedules in it (click the Bay Bridge closure bar to your right instead).