Date: 02/29/2008

Category: · Writing  » News Coverage  » SFist · Writing  » Op-Ed  » Urban Planning · Writing  » Topic  » science

View article as originally published

---

Good news: Translink will be up and running on Muni in the late fall/early winter of 2007. Or at least, that's what Muni said last year, and surprise! It's still not working. (And before that, it was January of 2007.) Translink is the work of a company called ERG, Ltd (emphasis on the "limited"); and in the decades (decades!) that it's been bandied about, lots of other cities have managed to set up Translinks of their own. No wonder Scott Schroeder, BART's controller-treasurer, wants the MTC to cut its losses and just give up on the project.

The impossible Translink dream has been stumbling around like a rabid possum for so long that it's sometimes hard to remember how disastrous it's been. But for years, it's always been almost ready. Just a few more months. Just one more test. Just a few million more. Can't stop us now. Nearly there. So close. This time, we promise it'll work.

And now, let's refresh our memories with a trip down memory lane with the Chron:

01/15/98: Multitransit card proposed - "The MTC hopes that by 2001, Bay Area residents will be able to use Translink cards on any local transit system, anytime. It will cost about $38 million to set up the program, including the pilot study, and run it for the first five years."

05/22/99: A Smart Transit Idea

12/10/01: Regional transit tickets almost ready for test - "...took $61 million and nearly a decade to develop."

09/19/02: Universal transit ticket a success -- BART glitch

09/08/03: The All-Purpose Fare Card - "The Bay Area is close to having a single regional transit ticket..."

09/26/03: BART Directors to Join 'Smart Ticket' Plan

08/26/05: BART Credit Card in the Works - "ticket machines and fare gates won't be equipped to take the cards until late next year."

01/16/07: TransLink Glitch - "BART, [Muni] and Caltrain are expected to launch this year."

08/14/07: Glitches, spiraling costs may delay TransLink expansion - "It has been decades ... the program has ballooned from the original estimate of $25 million to $130 million today ..."

09/12/07: TransLink rollout set, but testing delayed for train systems - The MTC "hopes that this will be the last time the contractor has to announce a delay."

09/18/07: New Way to Pay for Transit Rides (Plus an article in Masstransit Mag: "TransLink, after nearly two decades ... is finally ready for rush hour.")

02/27/08: Dump Translink Firm, BART Official Urges - "ERG's general manager for the Americas described the TransLink project as being 'in really good shape.'"