Commuters should expect bridge, ferry, BART, Caltrain, and bus delays due to the San Francisco Giants’ victory parade and other festivities in the city officials said this afternoon.
The Golden Gate Bridge will have four northbound lanes and two southbound lanes “as late into the evening as possible,” officials said, to try to accommodate the mass of celebrants leaving the city.
Southbound drivers should expect delays coming in to the city, officials said.
Four additional afternoon and evening ferry trips will complement the bridge district’s Golden Gate Ferry service from San Francisco to Larkspur.
BART is bolstering its afternoon service with 13 additional trains to accommodate the heavy crowds traveling home from the Giants victory parade in San Francisco, a BART spokesman said.
BART trains saw a ridership increase of 72,000 people during the morning commute, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.
Johnson is advising passengers of a longer wait time for trains leaving all San Francisco stations.
“The four stations in the city will really be impacted,” Johnson said. “And we need their patience. They may find that some of their entrances are closed, but it is for their protection and to ensure a quick commute.”
Johnson said that BART officials would be doing everything possible to mitigate train congestion.
“Every train is as long as possible and we are throwing every staff member that we have at the situation,” Johnson said.
The 13 extra trains will be running until they are no longer needed, he said.
Caltrain officials say every available train the transit agency owns is being used to transport thousands of Giants fans to and from the World Series Championship parade and celebration in San Francisco today.
Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said that fans began gathering at the San Jose Diridon Station before 7 a.m. and that huge groups of Giants supporters were waiting to board at every station.
The agency estimated that as many as 19,000 additional passengers took Caltrain today. Around 40,000 passengers use Caltrain on an average business day, according to Caltrain estimates.
“We basically ran every train we had this morning,” Dunn said, predicting that every available train will be needed to bring people home.
Even with the extra service, there was standing room only on every morning train, Dunn Said. Accommodating the surge in passengers buying tickets and boarding trains caused some 30-minute delays to normally scheduled commuter service.
Southbound passengers should expect more delays this afternoon as crowds leaving the festivities began packing the San Francisco Station on Fourth Street at 1 p.m.
An extra train departed San Francisco 1:30 p.m. and additional unscheduled trains will be added as needed throughout the remainder of the evening.
Dunn said she didn’t think Caltrain has ever experienced a sudden surge of passengers as massive as the agency did today.
