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Wi-Fi Is a Mixed Bag on Bay Area Transit

Neither SF Muni, BART nor Caltrain provide the perk of free Wi-Fi, citing cost, but the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority does.

(TNS) -- Since Muni started shutting down its Metro subway lines every night at the end of July to upgrade communications systems, many riders have been asking the same question. Can we get Wi-Fi with that?

“It seems like a good idea and would be a nice gesture to the riders to offset the inconvenience of the nighttime closure,” said Muni rider Jeffrey Burke Whitten.

The answer, alas, is no. Not this time.

During the six-month closure, Muni is replacing its radio system and the emergency phones in its tunnels but has no plans to install Wi-Fi, which is becoming increasingly ubiquitous elsewhere.

While patrons of coffee shops, libraries and bars — and even people standing on street corners — gain more and more access, Wi-Fi remains a mixed bag on Bay Area public transportation, even though it can be a powerful enticement for commuters.

Citing the cost, neither Muni nor BART or Caltrain provide the perk — though the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority does.

“Free passenger Wi-Fi continues to be the most requested amenity when we survey our riders,” said Stacey Hendler Ross, a spokeswoman for the VTA, which offers Wi-Fi on all light-rail trains and is installing it on all buses.

“Our riders wanted it,” she said, “and they use it.”

The number of transit vehicles offering free Wi-Fi is on the rise nationally, particularly on commuter rail, said Art Guzzetti, vice president for policy and research for the American Public Transportation Association.

Mix of equipment, providers

In 2014, 10.7 percent of commuter rail cars were outfitted, up from just 1 percent in 2008. Fewer intracity bus lines have Wi-Fi, but that number is also increasing — from less than 1 percent in 2008 to more than 5 percent last year. Figures for subway trains were not available.

“Tech-savvy generations expect all these things,” Guzzetti said, citing a variety of transit technology including onboard Wi-Fi, real-time ride information and automated stop announcements. “And we’re responding to that.”

But some Bay Area transit operators believe the expense of installing Wi-Fi steals funding from more critical needs, like buying new railcars, increasing service, and keeping buses, trains and rails in good shape.

For big moving vehicles, providing Wi-Fi involves more than just buying a cheap router and hooking it up. It can involve an elaborate array of equipment and arrangements with service providers that can run into the millions of dollars.

Caltrain officials, who field frequent requests to install Wi-Fi, have said they would prefer to spend their limited funding on increasing and improving service.

Costly undertaking

But the persistence of their tech-savvy ridership prompted them to take another look. Their conclusion, said agency spokeswoman Tasha Bartholomew, was that the price tag was so high that the agency would need a partner — or donor — to help out.

“It’s extremely expensive and technically difficult,” she said. “It’s really not that easy to install Wi-Fi technology on steel trains that run through an assortment of tunnels over a 55-mile right-of-way.”

Bartholomew declined to disclose cost estimates. She noted, however, that their riders probably wouldn’t settle for a weak signal that provides sluggish service and often cuts out.

“Other rail agencies have rolled out Wi-Fi networks, only to rescind them later due to connectivity issues,” she said.

BART, for one, tried to offer Wi-Fi to its riders, but the service was spotty. The relationship with the provider, a small firm called WiFi Rail, was shaky, and the transit agency canceled the contract in 2014 after five years of service that drew regular complaints from riders.

“We wanted Wi-Fi, but the partnership just didn’t work out,” said Alicia Trost, a BART spokeswoman. “The service provided just wasn’t good.”

So BART’s staff is starting over, trying to calculate the cost of providing Wi-Fi so the system’s board of directors can decide if it’s worth the cost.

Some Bay Area transit agencies believe it is.

AC Transit has offered free Wi-Fi on the majority of its transbay bus service since 2007 and was one of the first in the nation, said spokesman Clarence Johnson.

“We did it to enhance the bus riders’ experience on longer routes,” he said. “The thinking was additional passengers would cover the cost of providing it, and it’s panned out.”

Significant attraction

A 2009 survey of riders found that 39 percent were lured by the promise of free Wi-Fi on their commutes. Johnson believes it remains a significant attraction.

Golden Gate Transit recently installed Wi-Fi on its buses but has yet to bring it to ferries. The reason, said spokeswoman Priya Clemens, is the technological challenge of sending Wi-Fi signals across the bay, which has a considerable number of dead zones.

“We will continue to look at offering Wi-Fi in the future, with the hope that a new technology solution arises, or that the network coverage improves over the bay,” she said.

As for Muni, spokesman Paul Rose said the agency is “in the process of exploring our options for Wi-Fi or cellular service in the Muni Metro. We understand that many of our riders would be interested in this service.”

That may be an understatement, said San Franciscan Norm Gilbert, who considers such service a safety issue.

“If the Muni really cared about passenger safety,” he said, “they would make our cell phones work in the subway.”

Does your commute have Wi-Fi?

  • These Bay Area transit agencies offer free Wi-Fi to riders:
  • AC Transit: Most Transbay buses.
  • Golden Gate Transit: All buses; not yet on ferries.
  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: All light-rail vehicles; being tested and installed on all buses.
  • These agencies don’t provide Wi-Fi service:
  • BART: Earlier try failed.
  • Muni: Not planned, but possibility being studied.
  • Caltrain: Considered too costly; agency seeking private partner.
©2015 the San Francisco Chronicle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.