Distant BART Bay Area Destinations and other San Francisco, CA Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: BART has construction plans to extend lines out east as far as Antioch, Brentwood, and Livermore, and south to San Jose via the Fremont line. These extensions will make BART an even better service than it is now. As others have stressed many times, BART is a good deal in terms of American transportation economics. From the end of the Blue Line at the Pleasanton Station, the average automobile will take at least an hour, assuming no traffic jam, and pay a $3- Bay Bridge toll. A Round Trip, per person, BART ticket to the Embarcadero Station in San Francisco is currently only $9.40, payable with either cash or credit/debit card. For not a lot more, one can ride all the way to the airport---beating all the airport shuttle prices. The price of parking alone in the city or at the airport will easily persuade visitors that BART is a good deal. When returning to the East Bay destinations though, be sure to check which train you are on. You may need to transfer at one of the Oakland stations, and in some cases, back track. But, don't worry, you don't have to pay extra if you make a mistake as long as you don't leave the station. As some have noted, be careful of the parking lots at night, but in general, BART is very safe. See my combined transport for recommended routes in the city itself.

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Website: http://www.bart.gov/index.asp

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Finding a cheaper room outside the city but close to a BART station is budget wise. Even so, BART is a bit expensive and not comprehensive enough for traveling within the city of SF itself. The Muni system itself can run up expenses if a good route isn't used in the city. Coming from the East Bay, take BART to the Embarcadero Station. From there, the healthy walker can easily walk to the Ferry Building for Bay Cruises, or continue on through the Financial District to Chinatown or Union Square. Last week, my Venezuelan niece and I had coffee and pastry at the Ferry Building weekend marketplace, and then meandered our way past mostly empty skyscrapers, walking along the tranquil Embarcadero Plaza Shopping area on the 3rd floor terrace level. We lunched in Chinatown, and climbed the grade of Nob Hill. later arriving at the Cable Car barn. We had skipped paying high prices for the Cable Car ride from the foot of Powell Street, but caught the Cable Car at the top of the hill for a FREE thrill ride back down to Market Street. From there, we plugged quarters for a $1.50 Muni transfer tricket. The Castro district is worth a walk around, window shopping and peering into the gay lives of the city. It's easy to walk east along 16th street in search of the Latino district of the city, until reaching the venerable Mission Dolores. Walking further along 16th to near the corner of Valencia, we took coffee and Creme de Catalan desert at a Spanish restaurant there. We then back tracked along 16th using a Muni electric bus, which at that time of the day was standing room only. At Church and Market, one can easily catch the antique trolley car back down to the Embarcadero, completing a one day visit of the city on a variety of transportation options. The Muni transfers have expiration hours on them, and you may run out of time; however, in the Mission district, at the corner of Mission and 16th, guys hang out and illegally sell transfers for $1- each. Watch your back for arresting officers though the transfers may be a good deal.

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Website: http://www.sfmuni.com/cms/mms/home/home50.htm

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: There has been some confusion about the number of Cable Car lines still running, so check out the link below for a map and explanations about the routes. This is the system in short. The larger two brake double open-ended California line runs from the Financial District to Van Ness. This line is more likely to have local commuters with whom one can chat, but the views are fewer and there aren't any hair raising turns. The other two lines run up Powell toward Fisherman's Wharf. Most tourists will want the Powell-Hyde Street line because that takes one right to the cable car turn around at the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory. But, both lines have some excellent rises, descents, and great hair raising turns. On weekends, it's often easier to walk around the city and then use the cable car as a return to the foot of Powell, often for free. Unless the car is standing room only, it's pretty easy to climb on anywhere along the route. I find the downhill and curves the best part of the ride anyway, but for those only visiting once in a generation, take a complete ride. These cars are truely unique antique transportation. When visiting the Cable Car Museum, be sure to go down the steps and watch the pulleys moving the cables under the street. Many visitors to the museum don't go down the stairwell.

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Website: http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: In a series of BART station reviews, I provide examples of destinations and activites that can be take from those stations, as well as the connecting MUNI transport services. For those with limited time in the city, Glen Park could be a good stop. Glen Park is one of the first stops off BART on the south side of the city, with only Balboa Park being closer to the SFO city limits. The station interior is mostly unfinished concrete but the skylight roof creates a pleasant urban ambiance. Leaving Glen Park Station itself on foot is no great shakes because the neighborhood is quite near the 280 freeway, but just outside one can quickly find the #23 Monterey MUNI Bus which will wind it's way over the residential ridges south of Mt. Davidson to 19th and West Portal where there's a relatively quiet little business district with a row of great restaurants, good bookstores, and pleasant coffeeshops. Here, the average tourist visiting the city is rarely found (see my tip on West Portal). The upscale St. Francis Wood neighborhood is also here (see my tip on St. Francis Wood). The single family homes hugging the hillsides in this part of town are mostly early 20th century Mission Revival type homes with tile trim and rounded doorway lintels. Continuing from West Portal District, take Sloat Avenue west to Stern Grove (see Stern Grove tip), San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Zoo, and eventually Ocean Beach. This western side is the foggiest corner of the city. While these aren't considered "must see" places in SF, for those who have been to the city exploring this corner of the city will still rival the interest value of most American cities. Incidentally, at 19th and West Portal, one will find a line of the MUNI Rail system, which can be taken through the Twin Peaks Tunnel to the Castro District, creating a reasonable loop of sorts for those without a rental car.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Like the more famous Cable Car, the steel wheeled street car or trolley was once in danger of being eliminated completely. In 1974 Maurice Klebolt argued that the old trolleys be run along the waterfront as a tourist attraction. After the completion of the Market Street stretch of the underground BART and MUNI trains in the early 1980's, revival of using the trolleys as surface transportation from the Castro District to Fisherman's Wharf became a popular idea. Because this route is generally flat, it also makes the most of these power hungry steel rail bound transports. San Francisco's bargaining to acquire retired wrecks from all over the world is to be commended. Today, MUNI boasts having more trolley cars with origins in other cities than any other transit agency in the world. In exchange for one California Street Cable Car, the original "Street Car Named Desire" was acquired from New Orleans. Similarly, unique historic trolleys have been acquired from Oporto, Portugal, Kobe and Hiroshima, Japan, Hamburg, Germany, Orel and Moscow, Russia, Melbourne, Australia, and other places outside the USA. One open-topped street car from Blackpool, England is among this group of antiques that have been restored and painted to the original international colors. These cars are so treasured though that they are not always operational. Among those in regular service are the original double-ended street cars built for MUNI in 1948, some of which are painted to the colors of trolleys in St. Louis and Philadelphia. There are 13 single-ended cars originally built for Philadelphia in 1946, but which have been restored and painted to the colors of same design metro trolleys in Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Chicago, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Boston, Baltimore, Louisville, Newark, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. In addition, 10 "Peter DeWitt" cars from Milan Italy, having a central conductor to collect fares, have been purchased. Links below detail much more about this system.

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Website: http://www.streetcar.org/
Other Contact: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mrider/

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: The Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel on the Top of Nob Hill has high hourly and daily rates for parking. Study this list of prices. But, then again, anyone who can afford to stay the night at this hotel probably wouldn't think twice about paying the rates.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: Baylink (see www.baylinkferry.com) provides ferry service to Vallejo from the San Francisco Ferry Terminal, an hour long trip that by itself is easily worth $25- round trip as a scenic attraction on the bay. This ferry makes the longest run of any in San Francisco Bay ferry system and so passes by, without stopping at, a larger number of things to be seen: Golden Gate, Richmond, and Carquinez bridges, Alcatraz and Angel Islands, and various other great views only appreciated on this boat ride. But, this commuter run can also be a tourist run to the Napa Valley wine country and to the Six Flags/Marineworld Theme Park. For a full transit style adventure after arrival at the Vallejo Ferry terminal building, take the Vallejo Transit #85 bus (www.vallejotransit.com) to Six Flags/Marineworld. For the Napa Valley Wine Country, take Route 10 bus on Napa County's fixed route VINE transit (www.nctpa.net/vine.cfm). At the Vallejo Ferry terminal is a tourist office that can help with finding the right bus, but they can also assist in finding a wine tour bus or limo service. Although many argue that getting a rental car for the wine country is risky, many of the best wineries are simply not on the tour bus or limo itinerary. However, all the major and many minor rental car agencies are in Vallejo (mostly along Tennessee street in Vallejo) but are a bit far for a walk from the ferry terminal. Even so, the lower cost of renting a car in Vallejo, versus one in San Francisco, will easily justify the taxi fare. Plus, by riding the ferry, one avoids the horrible and often time wasting Bay Area freeway traffic. On the return to SF, the last ferry departs Vallejo at 5:35pm; however, there are 4 "clean-up" buses, one as late as 9:30pm, to take passengers who may have missed the last ferry. See link below for more details. Some ferries also stop at Fisherman's Wharf.

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Phone: http://www.nctpa.net/vine.cfm
Website: http://www.baylinkferry.com/leisure/route.php
Other Contact: http://www.vallejotransit.com/

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: The MUNI train, antique trolley, and cable car system only service a fraction of San Francisco, unfortunately, so the electric bus is the best alternative, and not really a bad one. For example, to get to the famed Haight-Ashbury intersection, one can walk up the rather steep climb of Haight Street, through the Lower Haight neighborhood, and past Buena Vista Park, or one can take the MUNI bus. We often like to walk, but through the Haight Street corridor, MUNI buses #6 and #7 run frequently enough for a visitor to get up and back from the Haight within an hour or so from the Civic Center Plaza area. The restored housing is certainly worth the work-out of walking.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: There are many vehicular, train, and even pedestrian tunnels in San Francisco, a number of which are described by Kevin Wallace's 1949 article, a link to which is provided below. Among these tunnels most likely to be found by tourists would certainly include the Stockton Street Tunnel, between Sutter and California Streets. The tunnel undercuts Bush and Pine Streets on Nob Hill, connecting Union Square area with easier access to North Beach and parts of Chinatown. The tunnel, completed in 1913, is 911 feet long, 50 feet wide, and arches to a height of 19 feet. Originally, the California Cable Car Company ran a line through the tunnel, but today the tunnel is a two way street with dedicated bicycle lanes and pedestrian sidewalks on each side. At each end are pedestrian stairwells which allow access to Bush and Pine streets, and on the Stockton Street side leading into the tunnel is a major bus stop. Behind the bus stop is a 9 floor parking structure that is highly recommended for being a good value place to leave the car. That is, rather than park in the more expensive garage below Union Square, consider leaving your car at the Stockton & Bush garage, and then walking two blocks.

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Website: http://sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/hgtun.htm

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bicycle
Getting TO/AROUND: Wikipedia presents in detail the interesting though disputed origins of and subsequent 1997 crackdown by San Francisco police against some 7,000 helmeted and protesting Critical Mass bicyclists who had shouted down then Mayor Willie Brown at Justin Hermann Plaza. Each Friday, it had seemed, to those commuting in luxury cars away from towering office buildings within the west coast's wealthiest financial district, an eternity before dinner and theater. But, the low wage messenger, enviromentally conscious commuter, and the occasional recreational cyclist had long been abused by the uneven pavement, open sewer grates, and dangerous intersections, within a sea of arrogant, mindless drivers rushing to go to or return from work. Thus, Critical Mass, a method of protest used in many other cities, congregated thousands of protesting cyclists, controling intersections and blocking lanes by their numbers. Police officers frequently fumbled in their attempts to issue citations to nimble and fleeing cyclist protestors. The city eventually lost this public relations campaign though when news crews televised riot gear clad police officer clashed brutally with the thin styrofoam helmets of non-violent cyclists. Today, seeing the value of pollution free bicycles during an era of global warming, the city recognizes and celebrates this period of cyclist civil rights protest by placing new emphasis on the eco-friendly practice of bicycling to work. Although the city has a long way to go in terms of bicycle friendly infrastructure, MUNI claims on it's website that it is dedicated to making San Francisco one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the USA. There are now many dedicated bicycle lanes, some through traffic tunnels, and planned routes throughout the city are in progress. Moreover, the city and county have retrained officers to issue citations to motorists breaking the law by harassing a cyclist or violate traffic lanes devoted to cyclists. Much of this is promoted in a more friendly way by the powerful San Francisco Bicyclist Coalition, which regularly works with the government, and businesses on behalf of the bicycle messengers, commuters, and recreationists. The increasingly popular Tour of California, always has a stage that begins and ends in the city of San Francisco.

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Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass#July_1997_San_Francisco_Crackdown
Other Contact: http://www.sfbike.org/