Ride BART from the East Bay to San Francisco

Rents and cost of living are quite high in San Francisco, and significantly lower in the nearby cities in the North, East, and South Bays. Thus, those who work or study in San Francisco, but seek to Live in San Francisco on a Budget, might look to live in these areas. The East Bay, in particular, enjoys good connectivity to San Francisco via the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. This page provides an overview of the options for daily commuting from a residence in the East Bay to San Francisco via BART. Information here might also help people decide where in the East Bay to live, and to balance costs and time spent commuting based on their needs.

Steps

  1. Use BART's closest station finder to determine the station(s) closest to your residence.[1] On the website, you can explore the closest station based on whether you wish to walk, bike, drive, or take buses or shuttles. Some areas in the East Bay offer free shuttle service to BART stations.
  2. Check the frequency of service as well as the time taken to get to your destination in San Francisco from the closest station. The time taken from Embarcadero (the first downtown station if arriving from the East Bay) to Civic Center/UN Plaza (the last downtown station) on BART is 7 minutes. The list below provides guidance on the frequency of service from important BART stations (on working weekdays), as well as the time taken to get from there to Embarcadero via BART.[2][3][4]:
    • West Oakland Station: All BART trains to San Francisco pass through this station. During working hours, service frequency through this station is 16 times an hour, or once every 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The time taken from here to Embarcadero is 7 minutes, much of it spent in the TransBay Tube. During the morning and evening rush hour (around 7 to 8 AM and 5 to 6 PM) the frequency goes as high as 24 trains an hour, or one train every 2.5 minutes.
    • 12th Street/Oakland City Center, 19th Street Oakland, and MacArthur stations: BART trains from the Richmond line (that goes through Berkeley) and the Antioch (formerly Pittsburg/Bay Point) line all pass through these stations. With the exception of reduced late night and weekend service, service frequency in the direction of San Francisco through these stations is 8 times an hour, or once every 7.5 minutes. During the morning and evening rush hour, frequency can be as high as 16 times an hour, or once every 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The time taken to Embarcadero from these stations is 10 minutes, 13 minutes, and 17 minutes respectively.
    • Stations on the Richmond line (Ashby, downtown Berkeley, North Berkeley, El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito Del Norte, and Richmond): The time taken to Embarcadero depends on the starting station, ranging from 20 minutes (if you start at Ashby) to 35 minutes (if you start at Richmond). Frequency of direct service is once every 15 minutes. However, if you include service with scheduled transfer (take the Warm Springs line and transfer at MacArthur) the frequency is once every 7.5 minutes. The service with scheduled transfer takes 1-2 minutes longer than the regular service.
    • Stations on the Antioch Line: The time taken to Embarcadero depends on the starting station, ranging from 21 minutes (if you start at Rockridge) to 55 minutes (if you start at the Pittsburg/Bay Point end of the regular BART part of the line). There are two further stations: Pittsburg Center and Antioch, that are connected to the Pittsburg/Bay Point station via eBART, and are 8 and 15 minutes out from Pittsburg/Bay Point respectively. Outside of rush hours in the morning and evening, frequency is once every 15 minutes. There is additional morning and evening rush hour service for parts on this line. In particular, stations Pleasant Hill onward see a peak frequency of once every 5 minutes during the morning and evening rush hour.
    • Lake Merritt, Fruitvale, Coliseum, and Bay Fair stations: These stations, southeast of the West Oakland station, are served by BART trains from Warm Springs as well as Dublin/Pleasanton. Frequency is once every 7.5 minutes. Time taken to Embarcadero ranges from 12 minutes (Lake Merritt) to 27 minutes (Bay Fair).
    • Castro Valley, West Dublin/Pleasanton, and Dublin/Pleasanton Stations: These stations are served only by the Dublin/Pleasanton-Daly City line. Frequency is once every 15 minutes. Time taken to Embarcadero ranges from 31 minutes (Castro Valley) to 44 minutes (Dublin/Pleasanton end of line).
    • Hayward, South Hayward, Union City, Fremont, and Warm Springs Stations: These stations are served by the Warm Springs-Daly City line. Frequency is once every 15 minutes. Time taken to Embarcadero ranges from 32 minutes (Hayward) to 52 minutes (Warm Springs).
  3. Use BART's QuickPlanner to get an understanding of how crowded trains will be during your morning and evening commute. Check our tips on riding BART and our guide on avoiding crowds in mass transit, or just try riding a few times to experience for yourself! Crowdedness varies heavily by time of day, line, and even by cars within the same train. Some general tips on crowdedness are included below; note that the details can change over time as ridership patterns change.
    • Antioch -> San Francisco International Airport line: This line generally runs ten-car trains during the day, using shorter trains only very early in the morning or late at night.
      • This line is the most crowded of the lines during the morning rush hour, because it combines all traffic from stations exclusively serving the Antioch line, plus some people who transfer to this line from the Richmond-Warm Springs line at MacArthur. That being said, it reaches that level of crowding only from MacArthur onward, so if you are getting on at a station before MacArthur, this may not be an issue.
      • On the other hand, during non-rush-hours, this line is one of the least crowded since it generally runs full ten-car trains (the maximum permissible length) whereas other lines run shorter trains outside of rush hour.
      • A good rule of thumb is that this is a good line to be on if you are boarding after 10 AM, but bad to be on during rush hour.
    • Richmond -> Millbrae line: This line runs 8-10-car trains during rush hours but shorter trains at other times of the day.
      • If you are boarding at a station exclusively serving the Richmond line (Ashby or further north), this is the superior option during rush hour. An inferior option is to take the Richmond -> Warm Springs line and transfer at MacArthur to the Airport line. But as noted, the latter line gets crowded at MacArthur because of the large number of people transferring.
      • The line is also the superior option during the morning rush hour if boarding at the 12th Street, 19th Street, or MacArthur stations.
      • After 10 AM, the distinction between this line and (taking or transferring to) the Airport becomes more of a tossup.
    • Warm Springs -> Daly City line
    • Dublin/Pleasanton -> Daly City line: If boarding at West Oakland, this line is the least crowded during rush hour.
    • Additional morning rush hour lines: There are additional morning rush hour lines that are truncated versions of the Antioch-San Francisco International Airport line. These additional lines have various combinations of starting and ending stations. The East Bay terminal stations other than Pittsburg/Bay Point are North Concord (the penultimate station on the line) and Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa County (separated from North Concord by Concord Station). The possible ending stations on the other side, other than San Francisco International Airport are Montgomery and Daly City. While returning, the trains from Montgomery to Pleasant Hill run express between MacArthur and Pleasant Hill. The additional service runs roughly between 6 AM and 9 AM, reaching peak frequency between 7 AM and 8 AM, when the combined frequency reaches 5 minutes.
    • Additional evening rush hour lines: There are additional evening rush hour lines that are truncated versions of the Antioch-San Francisco International Airport line. These additional lines have various combinations of starting and ending stations. The East Bay end stations other than Pittsburg/Bay Point are North Concord (the penultimate station on the line) and Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa County (separated from North Concord by Concord Station). The two possible ending stations on the other side, other than San Francisco International Airport are 24th Street/Mission and Daly City. The additional service runs from approximately 3:30 to 6:30 PM, reaching a peak combined frequency of once every 5 minutes between 5 PM and 6 PM.
  4. Check out BART's bike guide, if you intend to bike to and from BART[5]. You have a few options:
    • Leave your bike in bike parking or bike racks at or near the station near your residence. Budget an extra minute for securing and retrieving your bike.
    • Carry the bike on the train with you. This option may not be available if you intend to commute during rush hour.
    • If you depart at MacArthur station, you may also be able to avail of the bike shuttle that carries bikes between MacArthur and downtown San Francisco.
  5. Keep in mind the reduced service frequency in the evening and on weekends:
    • Unlike some other rapid transit systems, BART does not run 24 X 7. The last departures happen around midnight and the last arrivals happen between 1 AM and 1:30 AM. BART reopens at 4 AM on weekdays, 6 AM on Saturday, and 8 AM on Sunday. If traveling late at night (or early in the morning on weekends), you will need to use alternate transit options.
    • Reduced service on weekdays in the evening: The Daly City-Warm Springs line's last departure in the evening is at 6:58 PM from Daly City (7:15 PM from Embarcadero). The Millbrae-Richmond line's last departure in the evening is at 9:01 PM from Millbrae (9:33 PM from Embarcadero). Beyond these times, there is no direct service to Warm Springs and Richmond respectively: Warm Springs passengers need to transfer from the Dublin-Pleasanton line at Bay Fair whereas Richmond passengers need to transfer from the Antioch line at 19th Street Station (Oakland). Effectively, the service frequency halves on the Richmond and Warm Springs lines due to the trains being stopped. Service frequency on the other two lines also reduces from 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Keep this in mind if you expect to frequently be commuting back home late at night.
    • Reduced Saturday service: On Saturdays, the frequency for each line is about 20 minutes instead of 15 minutes, so the effective service frequency at each station goes up in the same proportion (5 minutes instead of 3.75 minutes at West Oakland, 10 minutes instead of 7.5 minutes at the stations that share two lines, and 20 minutes at the stations that are on a single line, though 10 minutes effectively at Richmond due to the timed transfer).
    • Reduced Sunday service: On Sunday, the Warm Springs-Daly City and Richmond-Millbrae lines don't run at all. So there are only two lines connecting San Francisco with the East Bay, each running at a frequency of 20 minutes. The effective frequency at West Oakland station is 10 minutes and that at all other stations is 20 minutes.
    • Additional weekend closures for maintenance (as part of the Better BART Program): BART is working on replacing and improving its aging trackway. The trackway and signaling system upgrades require weekend closures on some parts of the line. These closures are generally announced more than a week in advance and you'll hear about them at any BART station while waiting for your train. You can also sign up for email alerts.[6] During the time service is closed, the closure is also listed under service advisories.[7]
  6. Investigate parking options at the station, if you intend to drive to and from BART. Not all BART stations have parking, but those that do offer convenient options for day-long parking. In the East Bay, the only stations that don't have parking are the downtown Berkeley station and the two downtown Oakland stations (12th Street/Oakland City Center and 19th Street). Also keep in mind that parking at some stations can fill up as early as 6:30 AM. You can also check other services to learn of availability of street parking near BART stations.
  7. Estimate and optimize your monthly travel costs:
    • If you intend to use BART regularly as a commuter, get a Clipper Card and buy High Value Discount (HVD) tickets. HVD tickets allow you to get $48 of value for $45, or $64 of value for $60, i.e., a 6.25% discount.[8] There are no unlimited monthly or daily passes, and HVDs are your best option as a regular commuter between the East Bay and San Francisco.
    • For your monthly expenses, use the BART fare calculator[9] to compute the cost of a one-way trip from the starting to ending station. Multiply by two to get your daily cost. Then multiply by the number of days you intend to commute in a month to get a monthly cost estimate. If using HVD, apply the 6.25% discount to your estimate.
    • Remember to add in costs for bike lockers, parking, or transit to the station if using the respective options.
    • Costs can range quite significantly. Commuting from West Oakland to Embarcadero costs $3.20 one-way, or $6.40 daily, which translates to about $125-150 monthly. Commuting from Pittsburg/Bay Point to 24th Street/Mission costs $6.65 one-way, or $13.30 daily, which translates to about $260-330 monthly.[4]
    • BART offers discounts (to the tune of about 60%) for youth, senior citizens, and RTC Clipper Cards. Also, children aged 4 or less can ride BART for free. Make sure you investigate and avail of discount options available to you.
    • Check if your employer offers commuter tax benefits[10]
  8. Keep alternative transportation options handy in the event of a BART system-wide delay, such as:
    • AC Transit TransBay service schedule or map, is relevant for residents of the northern half of the East Bay, including Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville.
    • AmTrak Capitol Corridor serves the southern half of the East Bay. Although it does not go to San Francisco, it offers a bus connection at Emeryville.[11]
    • On-demand transportation services such as Uber and Lyft (note, however, that these can be expensive to use for transbay travel; however, they might be ideal to use in conjunction with AC Transit).
    • Muni service within San Francisco (useful if BART or AC Transit gets you as far as Embarcadero).[12]

Tips

  • Rents and land prices are generally high close to BART stations and fall heavily the farther you get from a BART station. Thus, there is a significant trade-off between the convenience of using mass transit and the cost of housing. For good trade-offs between rent and commuting time/cost, consider locations within 10-20 minutes walking distance of the Ashby, MacArthur, and Rockridge stations. The best trade-offs in this domain are also likely to be quieter places, which may or may not be to your taste.
  • If you live more than 15 minutes from your nearest BART station, consider biking, taking transit, carpooling, shuttles, or on-demand transportation services to the nearest BART.
  • Also read the Ride BART page.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ Closest Station Finder
  2. ↑ BART brochures
  3. ↑ BART fares and schedules (2016)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 2016 BART fare chart
  5. ↑ Bikes on BART
  6. ↑ Better BART. Better Bay Area, bart.gov, retrieved August 21, 2016
  7. ↑ Service Advisories, bart.gov, August 21, 2016
  8. ↑ Clipper on BART
  9. ↑ BART fare calculator
  10. ↑ Commter tax benefits, BART.gov
  11. ↑ AmTrak Capitol Corridor
  12. ↑ SF Muni Transportation

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