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Bay Area people not abandoning their cars
SAN FRANCISCO — Despite efforts to persuade people to abandon their cars and take mass transit, walk or ride a bicycle, 82 percent of Bay Area commuters drive or ride in a motor vehicle, according to Commute Profile 2001.
The annual survey conducted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s ride-sharing project also reports that about 17 percent of the region’s 3.5 million commuters are riding to work with others in either organized or casual carpools — an increase of 3 percent over last year and the highest rate since 1996, when carpooling began a decline.
Bay Area-wide, 65 percent of commuters said they drive solo to and from work. That share has changed little in the nine-year history of the survey.
BART, Caltrain and several smaller transit agencies reported steep ridership increases in the past two years, but transit still accounts for just 12 percent of the commute, according to the survey.
Researchers interviewed 3,600 people older than 18 and with full-time jobs outside their homes.
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OAKLAND — A shiny pink bag and the nervousness of the man carrying it led to the seizure Saturday of $1.2 million of suspected black tar heroin by a veteran police sergeant, authorities said.
Sgt. Ersie Joyner III arrested Hector Ramirez, 22, on suspicion of possession of heroin and possession of heroin for sale. Joyner said the pink bag Ramirez was carrying caught his eye.
When Ramirez saw Joyner he began “acting hinky, he dropped the bag and started walking across the street,” said Joyner.
Joyner saw what he thought was packaged narcotics spill from the bag. Joyner stopped Ramirez and confiscated the bag that contained at least 1,000 grams of suspected black tar heroin in six different plastic bags.
If sold on the street, that would mean at least 60,000 $20 doses, said Alameda County district attorney’s inspector Jim Kimzey.
