A cadre of Bay Area transit agencies announced Thursday that they have launched a list of COVID-19 vaccination sites that are accessible by transit as well as the promotions offered to vaccine recipients.
The list of vaccine sites includes locations served by BART; the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District; the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority; the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and SamTrans.
“We are committed to making sure that the folks who rely on public transit can not only get to the vaccination sites but that they can easily find information about their best options,” BART Board President Mark Foley said in a statement.
The vaccination site information is part of the Healthy Transit Plan, launched in August by more than two dozen transit agencies in nine Bay Area counties outlining the plans each agency will take to safely welcome riders back.
The SFMTA established a 30-member task force to draft the plan, seeking input from paratransit services, county health officials and labor organizations.
The plan also includes employee health and safety standards that transit agencies must follow, including supplying workers with personal protective equipment and implementing a COVID-19 assessment before employees enter a transit facility or operate a vehicle.
In total, 27 public transit agencies and providers in Napa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties are participating in the plan.
“By mapping the locations of the vaccination sites, which will be updated weekly, and then overlaying our transit routes that serve those locations, VTA is providing the needed information for those living in these communities of concern who may be transit-dependent to enable them to access essential transit services that will take them to receive vital medical services,” VTA CEO and Acting General Manager Evelynn Tran said.
All six agencies that serve vaccination sites are also offering free or compensated ride fares for riders who are traveling to and from a vaccination appointment.
The Healthy Transit Plan website can be found at http://www.healthytransitplan.com.
This is absolutely nonsensical to me…advocating taking public transit to a vaccination site when people are actively avoiding this means of transportation due to Covid-19! Why don’t they bring in mobile vaccination vans TO the areas that are in those special zip codes?
Sancho Panza, I asked this same question the other day! How come no one at the county health department has not thought about this? Is it possible to take one of the mobile health buses and take it to Bay Point, Antioch, and Brentwood?
BART is done, it’s just nobody has told them yet. It’s no longer a transportation company, it’s a provider of government jobs from which people can’t be laid off or fired. Sounds like great gig if you have no other prospects.