Effective this week on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 drivers within San Francisco Bay Area and California statewide are paying extra 12 cents per gallon. The commuting drivers have to pay extra for gasoline fuel to operate their cars for transportation. The new gas tax increase approved by state legislatures and signed into law by the governor is finding challenges because it's not working for low-income drivers. Some state legislators are seeking to put therein matter on the ballot for the people to decide and not legislators and/or state governor.

The groundbreaking for Richmond Ferry Terminal this week exemplifies the greater need for optional transporting needs in San Francisco Bay Area avoiding vehicular traffic congestion. The ferry services from Richmond to San Francisco will operate under WETA (Water Emergency Transportation Authority) guidelines and services may begin in September 2018. The new restructured ferry terminal site will cost around $20 million with funding from state and federal allocations.

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) board ratified two admin ordinances for passengers to show proof of payment to ride BART trains and citation enforcement with logistical resolution protocols. Therein two BART admin ordinances will take effect on January 1, 2018 along with one month grace period and BART Police will start inspecting proof of payments from passengers. Other community agents (Community Service Officers) will assist BART police officers with fare payment inspections to avoid fare payment evaders.

The traffic improvement project on Highway 101 and Willow Road in Menlo Park is progressively moving forward to hopefully ease local traffic congestion. The Caltrans improvement project is sponsored by City of Menlo Park for a cloverleaf style interchange for cars exiting/entering Highway 101 from Willow Road. The local project started during 2017 at summertime and possibly taking two years development. The traffic congestion has been bad during local commuting hours and some drivers are using local neighborhood streets to avoid traffic.

The Silicon Valley is paving the way for autonomous vehicles and innovation within the automotive markets within San Francisco Bay Area and nationwide. The latest study survey released by Foley & Lardner LLP identifies 70% of survey people believes Silicon Valley is the top leader in therein sector. The other 46% participants view Detroit being at the cutting edge with autonomous connections and 38% see Germany along the way. The Silicon Valley effort within the automotive business sector may be prepared and some consumers are wondering for readiness.

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is investigating another close-call for Air Canada airlines flight 781 from Montreal to SFO (San Francisco International Airport). This FAA investigation is not far from three months ago for another Air Canada airlines flight with safety landing issues. The pilot crew for flight 781 was instructed by SFO air traffic control tower, to execute a "go-around" and abort landing because of the runway may not be fully cleared for landing.

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system has been testing new train cars for safety reasoning and successfully passed transporting safety elements. The BART administration is aiming at starting to transport passengers during the holiday season and/or around Thanksgiving. The 10 new train cars fleet have been rigorously going through safety testing before transporting passengers and become fully operational. It passed and completed a full checklist of safety elements and requirements over the weekend with documentation to submit.

The City of Mountain View is considering automated and no-driver transit services within city jurisdiction and hired a firm for feasibility study. The council members shared some ways and means of how therein system should function and operate during a study session. The transit project consideration was also reviewing how it would impact local traffic and safety during transporting activities. Because of many development projects happening at North Bayshore regional areas and more upcoming housing projects.

The public Flood Park in City of Menlo Park is having plans to renovate with new playing fields, and local residents are raising concerns about more traffic congestion. A draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was issued by county parks and recreation department for the public park along 215 Bay Road in Menlo Park. The local park development will be in phases including preservation for canopy trees, increasing sports field and repairs, as well as updating parking features.

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) board is considering to offer citations for people not paying their fees to ride BART trains. The BART administration is cracking down on people cheating the payment system to ride the train for free, including people physically going through BART gates without paying. The BART officials are looking at improving the payment system and/or ways to prevent people from going through entrance gates without paying. Some of local BART stations have higher wall devices to prevent people going through entrance gates without paying.