Bus Bankruptcy
Skoda Ostrov, an Eastern European trolley bus manufacturer, has liquidated its business after a bankruptcy proceeding. This would not be news except that MUNI bought 250 electric trolley busses from them in 1997 for $52 million dollars. Reportedly, the maintenance contracts will survive the ensuing turmoil.

New Rail District
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) has filed a Verified Notice with the Surface Transportation Board (yes, it’s called the Surf Board for short) to acquire the real estate and trackage from the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority from Healdsburg to Lombard, via Schellville, a distance of approximately 66.85 miles. SMART is not seeking freight common carrier rights that remain with the NWPA, although no entity actually exercises these rights, due to the unprofitable nature of providing freight rail service to over-harvested timber lands under difficult operating conditions.

Alameda Ferry Service Change?
The idea of the Water Transit Authority taking charge of the Alameda Oakland and Harbor Bay ferries was floated at city council. There was much discussion of the issue, but no action was taken at that time.

Amtrak San Francisco Station Reopens
Repairs have been made to the flood- damaged Amtrak San Francisco station located in the Agricultural Building, just south of and adjacent to the Ferry Building.

Alameda Ferries Look at Fuel Surcharge
Both ferry services are considering an across the board $0.25 increase on a temporary basis to recover costs associated with extraordinarily high fuel costs. This increase can be put into effect without applying to the California Public Utilities Commission because the PUC has already given carriers blanket authority for temporary fuel surcharges. The last fuel surcharge was made permanent when the services applied for formal permission to raise rates.

Harbor Bay Ferry Down for the Count
The Harbor Bay Ferry is expected to remain out of service for the month of August while work is completed on pilings that gave way, taking the dock out of service.


Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority Takes Tour
The 22 elected city and county officials who comprise the ACTIA will take a full day on Friday, July 30, to actually visit the sites to review the progress on some $3 billion worth of projects.

Alameda Citizens Watchdog Committee Releases Report
The CWC noted that with one exception, Measure B funds were spent the way the voters had approved. The one exception was the city of Oakland, which failed to provide timely information. The CWC also took exception the $1.5 million for improvements to Vasco Road and ACTIA was clearly unhappy with this criticism.

Another Toll Hike?
Thanks to the blow out of so many bridge projects, Caltrans will not have enough cash to pay for them. While for now the words “toll hike” are whispered, it’s clear that some increase from somewhere is needed to make up the shortfall.