Transit Cohort makes a splash at Bay to Breakers with all 27 agencies represented
Forty public transit fans turned out at 8am on an overcast Sunday in San Francisco to be part of the first ever transit cohort for the annual Bay to Breakers race. The cohort, organized by Seamless Bay Area, included 27 runners dressed as each of the Bay Area’s 27 transit agencies, San Francisco City Attorney and seamless transit champion David Chiu, local LuchaLibre star BART-Man, and strong showing of BART fans and employees, including BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost.
Seamless Bay Area organized the transit cohort as both a community building activity to bring together transit supporters from across the region, and as a way of building awareness about just how many transit agencies there are in the Bay Area. Seamless Bay Area board member Liz Broekhuyse designed the costumes, including custom bibs with each transit agency’s vehicle and logo, four wheels for arms and legs, and a custom headband. Running under the slogan “We Run As One”, the effort aimed to inspire hope about what can be accomplished when we work together; and while not intended, the experience certainly also demonstrated how difficult it can be to do anything as a group of 27!
While the annual race goes from San Francisco’s Ferry Building to Ocean Beach, Seamless transit cohort racers came in from across the region, including from the Peninsula, South Bay, and East Bay — many taking advantage of special early morning BART and Caltrain service set up specifically for the event.
After assembling at Rincon Park to put on costumes and take some group pictures, energy was high as the full group made its way toward the race start line near Howard and Main St. While all 27 transit agencies started the race, only about two-thirds made it all the way to the victory picnic organized by Seamless volunteers in Golden Gate Park.
Purely for fun, here is the approximate order of transit cohort race finishers based on what time they showed up at the Victory Picnic — some in groups (timed connections?) — as well as those who did not finish (short turn?), and those we’re not sure about (ghost bus?).
Stanford Marguerite Shuttle (technically not an official one of the 27, but the original home-made costume deserves special recognition)
Golden Gate Transit
BART
Muni #1
Muni #2
Dixon Readi-Ride
Tri-Delta Transit, Vacaville City Coach
SolTrans
Capitol Corridor
Petaluma Transit, Sonoma County Transit
VTA
An at-grade Caltrain crossing, San Joaquins Amtrak
AC Transit
SamTrans, Union City Transit, and Napa Vine
SF Bay Ferry #2
Did Not Finish: Santa Rosa City Bus, WestCAT, Rio Vista Delta Breeze, Caltrain, SF Bay Ferry #1
We’re Not Sure: SMART, Wheels, ACE, County Connection
Should we read into any of this at all? Should the Stanford Marguerite Shuttle rule over all Bay Area transit? Certainly not. But it was a fun day all around nevertheless - a great opportunity to connect with fellow transit supporters, meet enthusiastic BART employees, appreciate how transit gives us access to unique events, like Bay to Breakers, that make life in the Bay Area great!
Check out more photos below: