Transit officials looking to ease morning Bay Bridge traffic

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Local transit officials are looking for ways to ease the rush hour traffic jam into San Francisco.

"The freeway, it's always full," complained Claudia Zepeda, a commuter.

An AC Transit proposal aims to ease some of this congestion - but the plan is an unusual one.

Right now buses and cars share lanes of traffic on the Bay Bridge after the toll plaza. The proposal would send buses into one lane on the eastern span heading west.

That means drivers heading to Oakland would have buses passing by in the opposite direction going towards San Francisco in what's called a contraflow lane.

"It sounds a little strange, but it may would work," said Claudia Zepeda, also a commuter.

"I think that would be a little scary seeing buses coming at you as you're coming down the highway," said Dana Kizer, a Bay Bridge commuter.

The bridge would require a moveable barrier, like the one on the golden gate and narrower lanes.

The contraflow lane would only operate during the morning commute.

Transbay bus passenger Bijan Kazemi isn't convinced this would save that much time.

"Now if it was up to me, I would have made the bridge a little bit wider maybe added two more lanes up top so it would be a little easier. But I think it's foolish to spend any more money on the bridge. We're already in debt and the tolls are too high," he said.

Another option is to increase capacity on BART. More and more people rely on BART to cross the Bay.

The study also suggests adding a second Transbay Tube. But that would not be a quick fix either. It would take a lot of planning, money and work.

As of now, buses do have their own lane up until the toll plaza, but once they get on the bridge, they have to merge in and travel along with everyone else.

Any proposed changes would ultimately have to be approved by Caltrans.