BART service will be up and running on Wednesday while negotiations continue between the transit agency’s management and union leaders, a federal mediator overseeing the talks announced tonight.

Bay Area commuters will be able to board BART trains starting at 4 a.m. on Wednesday as normal, despite the looming threat of a strike over the past several days.

“Bargaining continues to take place…the parties have made some progress,” federal mediator George Cohen told reporters in Oakland tonight.

Cohen declined to answer any questions regarding ongoing contract negotiations with BART’s two largest unions but said, “We are devoting all of our energies…for the parties to reach an agreement.”

Tonight was the third night in a row riders braced for a strike — after the negotiation’s 60-day cooling-off period ended last Thursday, the threat of a strike has hung over the Bay Area.

On Sunday night, BART General Manager Grace Crunican said “the Bay Area is tired of going to bed at night and not knowing if BART will be open or not” in the morning.

However, with no agreement reached as of this evening, it’s unlikely that tonight is the last night riders will go to bed wondering if they’ll have a ride the next day. Sweet dreams, everyone.

the author

Eve Batey is the editor and publisher of the San Francisco Appeal. She used to be the San Francisco Chronicle's Deputy Managing Editor for Online, and started at the Chronicle as their blogging and interactive editor. Before that, she was a co-founding writer and the lead editor of SFist. She's been in the city since 1997, presently living in the Outer Sunset with her husband, cat, and dog. You can reach Eve at eve@sfappeal.com.

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